Pitch Deadline: 9 February 2015
Final Essay Deadline: 12 March 2015
Contact: Valerie Frankel and Karen Zarker
Email: [email protected] / [email protected]
Email subject line: What Can We Expect from Joss Whedon?

We all know and love Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Firefly, The Avengers, and the other big Whedon projects. But what’s on the horizon? Giant Marvelverse movies and tie-in shows? What about the smaller, long-rumored projects like Doctor Horrible 2, Ripper, Wastelanders and The Serving Girl?

Whedon recently created Bellwether Studios to produce Much Ado About Nothing and In Your Eyes. Will he do more more Shakespeare, like Hamlet? Film his decades-old scripts, like Afterlife? What of the beloved superhero, Wonder Woman?
  
This collection welcomes speculation on proposed projects like those above and analysis of the unmade movie scripts (Afterlife and Suspension are up on Write to Reel.com and Wonder Woman has popped up in a few places like Scribd). There are many recent unexplored Whedon projects: his Equality Now skits on YouTube “Evil Robot”, “Zombie”, and “When I Speak”, There’s also the documentary Comic-Con Episode IV: A Fan’s Hope and the Buffy Season Eight and Astonishing X-Men Motion Comics. The comic books themselves could use more analysis as Buffy, Angel, and Serenity continue.

Subtopics

While the collection will include analysis of recent projects (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., The Avengers, Much Ado About Nothing, Cabin in the Woods, etc.) plenty have already been received. Likewise, no more analysis of old projects (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Firefly) is needed.

These areas could use more submissions: Any perspective (gender, race, literary, cultural, television or comics studies, etc.) is fine, including comparison to Whedon’s older shows:

1. New Spinoffs (comic continuations, other Whedon comics, computer games, and fan videos): Looking for Buffy the Vampire Slayer, seasons 8-10, Serenity comics, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. TV-tie in comics, Spike Into the Light, Spike comics, Angel and Faith, Angel: After the Fall, Sugarshock, Myspace Dark Horse Presents Buffy shorts, etc. Likewise, older movies and comics in a post 2010-context (X-Men 3 vs Whedon’s X-Men Gifted), etc.) are welcome.

2. New Mediums (conferences, Browncoats, Serenity Now, web releases, Whedon’s blog and posting boards, social media): No one (possibly ever) has written on his new movie In Your Eyes or his Equality Now skits and “Whedon on Romney” (all on YouTube) or his Comic-Con Documentary or social media, or his blog or posting boards. These are all released with unusual mediums, a topic worthy of exploration. He also wrote and directed The R. Tam Sessions (now on Youtube) as a promo before Serenity. We might take one or two on Doctor Horrible or Commentary The Musical as new mediums and/or Whedon’s relationship to other web shows like The Guild. Homages to Buffy the Vampire Slayer in recent television could fit here. Whedon also directed Glee and The Office, and we’d love analysis on those shows.

3. The Future, what Whedon could/will/might/wants to do next. This includes unmade movie scripts (Afterlife, Wonder Woman, and Suspension are available). Shows in preparation or rumored: Doctor Horrible 2, Avengers 3 or other Marvel, Twelfth Night, Hamlet, New Buffy movie or Spike movie, Firefly continuations, The Serving Girl, Goners, Wastelanders. (There are many interviews and leaked rumors about these available, and speculation is welcome.)  Other speculative projects such as “What if Whedon had Written Agent Carter” are of interest, as well.

Essays accepted for this collection will be published as an ebook for Whedon fans and cultural generalists. Essays should be written in PopMatters style; erudite, engaging and entertaining, but not laden with academic language. Essays should be approximately 2,000-3,000 words, MLA format. Essays not accepted for the eBook will be considered for publication on the PopMatters website.