‘Avengers’ director’s new film -- Shakespeare -- set for Toronto

Director Joss Whedon is following up his mega-hit “The Avengers� not with another superhero movie but with a Shakespeare film. And it has landed a spot at the Toronto International Film Festival, which starts Sept. 6.

Whedon’s take on the Bard’s “Much Ado About Nothing� is billed as “contemporary,� yet it apparently uses the original text (and was shot in just 12 days). The film stars Amy Acker (who appeared in Whedon’s “The Cabin in the Woods�) and Alexis Denisof as the sparring lovers Beatrice and Benedick, and Toronto Fest programmers say it “offers a dark, sexy and occasionally absurd view of the intricate game that is love.�

Other stars include Nathan Fillion, Spencer Treat and Clark Gregg.

PHOTOS: Shakespeare on screen | VIDEO: 5 trailers from TIFF

Given Whedon’s wide-ranging projects --�Toy Story,��Buffy the Vampire Slayer,� “Cabin� and of course, “Avengers� -- perhaps Shakespeare shouldn’t come as a surprise, and Whedon has director, producer and screenplay credits on “Much Ado.�

The film was shot in Santa Monica and is in black and white. In a news release announcing the project last year, Whedon said the text “is to me a deconstruction of the idea of love, which is ironic, since the entire production is a love letter -- to the text, to the cast, even to the house it’s shot in.�

In a prescient bit of chest-thumping, the statement added that the film “should be headed for the festival circuit, because it is fancy.�

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