Joss Whedon

After directing the most successful movie of the year – not to mention the third most successful movie of all time – where does one go next?

In Joss Whedon’s case, it’s not Walt Disney World, but San Diego Comic-Con, where he was ubiquitous this year. Whedon hit up the parties (social media lit up with tales about his dancing prowess) and spoke on several panels, even getting mentioned In a panel for the web series "Husbands," on which he will guest star.

Whedon was a perennial presence at the mega-convention, hyping TV’s "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "Firefly," among others, for many years prior to his box office success.

Whedon wasn’t at the convention to tout the success of "The Avengers," though. His first panel celebrated the 10th anniversary of "Firefly," – in conjunction with an upcoming special on the Science Channel – and his second was to discuss the continuing adventures of "Buffy" in comic book form.

Lately, though, Whedon has been pondering his post-"Avengers" plans.

“I’ve just been trying to be with my family and trying to figure out who I am and what to do next," he told CNN Geek Out at Comic-Con. "It’s kind of an exciting time right now but it’s an exciting time of me waiting to make sure I don’t get so excited that I do the wrong thing."

He’s putting the finishing touches (and scoring the music for) an adaptation of Shakespeare’s "Much Ado About Nothing."

Next up: "Wastelanders," a web series with Warren Ellis, and "Dr. Horrible 2," a sequel to the Emmy award-winning web mini-series that starred Neil Patrick Harris. The prospect of a follow-up drew a roar of approval from the “Buffy” audience. Whedon hopes to begin production in the spring, while the original will appear on the CW soon.

Before he returns to that universe, Whedon continues to oversee the ninth season of the "Buffy" comic (it has picked up where the series left off). The comic has seen its share of shocking moments, including surprise deaths and surprise villains, as well as a lesbian relationship for Buffy. More recently, the character decided to have an abortion, a development which may or may not have passed muster with TV networks.

“They didn’t want me to have a lesbian kiss but they backed down on that," he said. "The only time the network ever actually said, ‘Now you need to stop,’ was when we made fun of fast food. When Buffy worked in a fast food place, that made them uncomfortable. If I had said the character is going to decide to have an abortion. In this day and age, some networks would be incredibly skittish because the people who oppose a woman’s right to choose are very vocal and kind of creepy. On the other hand, they might not blink because it is reality in this country that over a third of women are going to make that decision. It’s hard to say, it depends on who’s at the top. In comic books, we’re all at the top, and if it feels right, it belongs there and you don’t have to go through a phalanx of suits. I don’t know if [Dark Horse Comics editor] Scott Allie owns a suit."

It remains unknown, though, whether we will see the character again outside of comics.

"Obviously, we’re going to move into opera and then there’s going to be a flash mob," Whedon joked.