WRITER · BORN 1964
Joss Whedon
- Born
- 23 June 1964, New York City, New York, USA
- Known for
- Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014), Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997), Angel (1999), Veronica Mars (2004)
43 archived facts 4 topics 1 source Last reviewed Sep 2026
All facts (43)
- #001
Joss Whedon was asked to review the script for X-Men (2000) and reportedly decided that the entire script needed to be completely rewritten. When he delivered his draft to the studio, they apparently threw it away; in fact, they had only wanted him to add a few jokes.
- #002
Joss Whedon's Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997) episode "Hush" was nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series in 2000. "Hush" contained 28 minutes without dialogue, as a group of fairy-tale demons called the Gentlemen came to Sunnydale to steal voices and then hearts (literally).
- #003
Joss Whedon claimed that the script he wrote for the Firefly (2002) episode "Our Mrs. Reynolds" is his favorite thing he has ever written.
- #004
After Firefly was cancelled, Whedon cast nearly all of its main cast members as villains in his other projects. Nathan Fillion appeared as Caleb in the seventh season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Gina Torres appeared as Jasmine in the fourth season of Angel. Adam Baldwin also appeared in Angel in the fifth season as Marcus Hamilton. Summer Glau and Alan Tudyk appeared in Dollhouse as Bennett Halverson and Alpha, respectively. Sean Maher played Don John in Whedon's film Much Ado About Nothing.
- #005
Joss Whedon directed the post-credits scene of Thor (2011) to set up The Avengers (2012), and the mid-credits scene of Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014) to set up Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015).
- #006
His ex-wife Kai Cole published an article about their 16-year marriage: "There were times in our relationship that I was uncomfortable with the attention Joss paid to other women. He always had lots of female friends, but he told me it was because his mother raised him as a feminist, so he just liked women better. He said he admired and respected women, and did not look at them with lust. I believed him and trusted him. On the set of Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997), Joss decided to have his first secret relationship. Fifteen years..."
- #007
Joss Whedon's children carry their mother's surname, not his.
- #008
Joss Whedon is responsible for making Thanos the overarching villain of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
- #009
Joss Whedon wrote the story for the comic book Serenity, which fills the gap between the Firefly (2002) TV series and the film. Fellow Firefly writer Brett Matthews wrote the script.
- #010
Alyson Hannigan and Alexis Denisof are the godparents of Joss Whedon's son Arden.
- #011
Joss Whedon's favorite film is The Matrix (1999).
- #012
Joss Whedon's influences include Ray Bradbury, James Cameron, Rod Serling, William Shakespeare, Stephen Sondheim and Steven Spielberg.
- #013
Joss Whedon is a huge fan of 'Battlestar Galactica' and cast Tahmoh Penikett in one of the lead roles in 'Dollhouse' based on his work there. He also cast Jamie Bamber, Michael Hogan and Mark Sheppard in guest roles.
- #014
Joss Whedon rewrote the script for Speed (1994) without receiving an on-screen credit.
- #015
Joss Whedon is a big "X-Men" fan and based his most famous character, Buffy Summers, partly on Kitty Pryde.
- #016
Joss Whedon considers The Road Warrior (1981) a perfect film.
- #017
Joss Whedon reportedly earned more money from Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog (2008) than from The Avengers (2012), his third highest-grossing film.
- #018
Writing is definitely in his blood, as he may arguably be the world's first third-generation television writer. His grandfather wrote successful sitcoms such as The Donna Reed Show (1958) and Leave It to Beaver (1957) in the 1950s and 60s, and his father wrote for productions such as The Dick Cavett Show (1968), Alice (1976) and Benson (1979).
- #019
Joss Whedon signed a deal to write the "Wonder Woman" film. No actress had officially taken on the role by 4 December 2013, during the production of "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice", the sequel to the Superman reboot "Man of Steel".
- #020
Joss Whedon is a big fan of the Terminator series.
- #021
Whedon first appeared on screen in the Jossverse as "Numfar" of the Deathwok Clan in the Angel (1999) episode "Through the Looking Glass." Numfar, a relative of the Host, is routinely ordered to dance by Lorne's mother.
- #022
Whedon has said he created Buffy (the famous vampire slayer) to be an "alternative feminist icon."
- #023
Whedon is an active supporter of gay rights.
- #024
After earning a film studies degree from Wesleyan University, Whedon moved to Los Angeles and found his first writing job on the staff of Roseanne (1988), where he worked as a story editor and wrote several episodes of the highest-rated series. He later pulled double duty on the NBC series Parenthood (1990), co-producing and writing many episodes.
- #025
Whedon is related to video game music composer Jed Whedon.
- #026
Whedon, known for his support of feminist causes and having spent most of his career writing films and TV shows about empowered young girls or young women, was a subscriber to the American feminist magazine Sassy for young girls. Sassy was published between 1988 and 1994, which means Whedon (born 1964) would have been in his late twenties or early thirties while receiving the publication.
- #027
Whedon is one of many screenwriters who submitted a draft for the film Freddy vs. Jason (2003).
- #028
Whedon graduated from Wesleyan University in 1987.
- #029
The 21 August 1995 draft of the screenplay for Twister (1996) lists Joss Whedon and Jeff Nathanson as writers. Neither writer appears in the final film.
- #030
It took Whedon two years to finish the Buffy comic book spin-off miniseries "Fray" with artist Karl Moline, because of the schedule of his three shows (Buffy/Angel/Firefly) and the artist's new job at CrossGen Comics.
- #031
In X-Men: The Last Stand (2006), the idea of a cure developed by Dr. Kavita Rao, Beast's interest in it, and the significant roles played by Kitty Pryde and Colossus were inspired by Joss Whedon's "Gifted" story in the first six issues of "Astonishing X-Men."
- #032
In 2007, after Brian K. Vaughan left it, Whedon began writing the Runaways comic book.
- #033
Whedon and Cole can be heard on a demo recording on the episode soundtrack for the hugely popular episode "Once More With Feeling." It was recorded in the front room of their house.
- #034
Whedon completed his first draft screenplay for "Wonder Woman" (2007), but the film was ultimately written by Allan Heinberg and did not reach theaters until 2017.
- #035
In the 2002-2003 television season, Whedon had three television series, each airing on a different network: Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997) on UPN, Angel (1999) on WB and Firefly (2002) on Fox. Angel (1999) was the only one of the three still on the air in the 2003-2004 season; Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997) had finished its seven-season run, while Firefly (2002) had been cancelled after 14 episodes.
- #036
Whedon is one of several successful current filmmakers who are Wesleyan University graduates, a group that includes Michael Bay, Ruben Fleischer and Benh Zeitlin.
- #037
Whedon is the brother of Zack Whedon (assistant to Mr. David Milch) and Jed Whedon.
- #038
Whedon has stated that the choice of the name "Twilight" for the masked supervillain of the Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997) "Season Eight" comics is a coincidence, not a reference or nod to the film Twilight (2008). "Twilight" also named the final story of Season Eight.
- #039
Joss Whedon's wife, Kai Cole, gave birth to their son Arden on December 18, 2002.
- #040
Joss Whedon is the son of Tom Whedon.
- #041
Joss Whedon is the grandson of John Whedon.
- #042
Joss Whedon's daughter Squire was born in late 2004 or early 2005.
- #043
Joss Whedon co-wrote the screenplay for Toy Story (1995) with Andrew Stanton, Joel Cohen and Alec Sokolow. Whedon was the person who created Rex the Dinosaur.
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