(Cover) - EN Movies - Joss Whedon will be going back to the lessons he learnt on Buffy the Vampire Slayer for The Avengers.

Joss is determined to focus more on character than set pieces on superhero epic The Avengers, which sees Captain America, Iron Man, Thor and The Incredible Hulk team up.

The writer-and-director watched in horror after his Buffy the Vampire Slayer script was heavily changed for the film version in 1992, which starred Kristy Swanson as the titular hero. However, five years later he developed the character for a hugely successful TV show, this time starring Sarah Michelle Gellar. Running for six years, the show was praised for its intelligent characters and risqu sub plots.

"What he honed in television was the character work, the character dynamics and how to make a character, and the conflict between characters and the humour between the characters always at the forefront, regardless of what else was happening with hell invading a high school," said Marvel Studios president of production Kevin Feige to SciFi Now. "That balance is what made his shows beloved around the world, and that's what I wanted out of The Avengers."

Despite Joss being relatively new to helming big screen blockbusters (his other directorial credit was Serenity), Kevin isn't worried.

"It's by far the biggest film we've ever produced. But I needed, and what I wanted was somebody who would make sure that the characters not only didn't get lost amongst all that, but in fact drove all of that," he added.

The Avengers is released next summer, 2012. (C) Cover Media