Here's another reason why "Make Mine Marvel" is such an oft-uttered phrase this year.

Joss Whedon, the writer-director of "The Avengers," is now officially the director of "The Avengers 2," according to The Hollywood Reporter.

The news came via Disney CEO Robert Iger, who also reminded everyone that "The Avengers" is the third biggest-grossing movie of all time and announced that Disney has initiatives in the works to "leverage the power of 'The Avengers'" across the entire company, whatever that means. Sounds vaguely like a supervillain plot that the Avengers would team up to stop, doesn't it?

Whedon will also be creating a Marvel-related live-action television series, which, in true Whedon style, will probably garner a huge cult following even if no one actually watches it. It's now a race to see which will hit the small screen first: Whedon's project or the proposed "Hulk" series to which Guillermo del Toro is attached.

Despite the occasional display of his trademark seemingly clueless sexism (Pepper Potts in jean shorts?), Joss Whedon was the best thing about "The Avengers." He just got the damn thing better than anyone else could have, down to the slightest character nuance and throwaway pop culture reference ("Best clench up, Legolas"). If there's even a ghost of a chance that the sequel will be just as good if not better than the original, it's because Whedon is calling the shots again.

Meanwhile, "The Avengers" has made more money than any of us will ever see in a thousand centuries. The summer's No. 1 film will hit Blu-ray and DVD on Sept. 25.