AceShowbiz -

It is official, Joss Whedon will return to helm "The Avengers 2". Bringing good news to the Earth Mightiest Heroes' fanboys, Walt Disney Pictures has confirmed on Tuesday, August 7, that it has officially sealed Whedon to return to the directing seat of the sequel project as part of an exclusive deal with Marvel Studios.

Disney CEO Bob Iger said in a statement, "Joss Whedon has signed an exclusive deal with Marvel Studios for film and television through the end of June 2015." He added, "As part of that deal, Whedon will write and direct Marvel's The Avengers 2 as well as help develop a new live action series for Marvel Television at ABC. He will also contribute creatively to the next phase of Marvel's cinematic universe."

Previously, Whedon sparked frenzy as he hinted that he might not return to "The Avengers" sequel. "I have not come to a decision on directing Avengers 2 yet," the New Yorker stated at Comic-Con. "I am having too much fun with this ['Firefly' reunion] now."

Two months before, the "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" creator told Hero Complex, "You know, I'm very torn. It's an enormous amount of work telling what is ultimately somebody else's story, even though I feel like I did get to put myself into it. But at the same time, I have a bunch of ideas, and they all seem really cool."

With Whedon serving behind the lens, "The Avengers" has successfully earned around $1.5 billion worldwide. The massive gross made the superhero ensemble movie the third-highest-grossing flick of all time, trailing behind James Cameron's "Avatar" and "Titanic".

Before moving on to "The Avengers 2", Disney and Marvel will have to work on a number of highly-anticipated sequels, including "Iron Man 3", "Thor: The Dark World" and "Captain America: The Winter Soldier".