Joss Whedon showed up at South by Southwest this year and had a lot to say about his latest television series S.H.I.E.L.D. as well as some thoughts on the character of The Hulk.

When it came to the S.H.I.E.L.D. television series, Whedon said it was a lot of fun, but entirely too much work. He said what he loves best about it was that he was able to tone things down from the big name superheroes blowing things up, and focus on the little guys in the trenches.

“It’s the people whose shop windows get blown up when the Destroyer shows up. It’s the more intimate stories that belong on television that we can really tap into the visual style and ethos, and even some of the mythology, of the Marvel movies.” – Joss Whedon

Whedon also talked about his role in the Marvel Universe. He said that he listens to the directors, reads the scripts and watches the cuts. He then gives his opinion to Marvel and the editors. Sometimes he will do some writing or doctoring, but he said he wants to let the directors do their own work and not interfere too much.

“Every time you work on a project it’s a little vacation from the project you’re working on the other 23 hours. That’s the thing – it replenishes you to do something else. And they’re very aware that if I’m too tired or busy to help with anything, that’s fine. But if I can help and not get in the way of the actual filmmakers, that’s what I’m going to do.” – Joss Whedon

Finally, he talked about how hard it is to write for The Hulk. He said the hardest part is the balance between hero and monster. That makes sense, because the first movie had him as a monster and the second tried to make him more of a reluctant hero. Finally, The Avengers got it right.

“It was easier to have him in a group than to build everything around him. I don’t think there would be any problem getting a movie together that had enough Banner, even if there was also Hulk. But if he was only Hulk for the entire movie I think Mark [Ruffalo] at some point would go, why am I here? I would be less inclined to pursue a storyline where the Hulk is only ever the Hulk.” – Joss Whedon

Source: Deadline