Skimming close to a billion dollars worldwide after a mere 14 days, Marvel, Disney and Paramount are proving that you can indeed make a movie mashup with other characters and pull it off. With that in mind, and that massive payroll coming into the Marvel Studios bank account, you had better believe there are already plans for a sequel to The Avengers.

Deadline has the official quote:

Disney CEO Bob Iger just announced that the company is developing a sequel. The film’s success “is a great illustration of why we like Marvel so much.” Demand for Avengers merchandise has been strong, he added.

While there is no official word, you can expect that Disney is courting Joss Whedon to return to the pen and/or direct for the second film, but we all know it’s going to be a bit far out. The next batch of sequels you can expect to take off will be Shane Black’s Iron Man 3, Thor 2, and the sequel to Captain America: The First Avenger.

At Disney‘s recent D23 conference the company announced that Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides would be going into production. Perhaps more importantly, the film would set sail with the man who really made the franchise what it is, Johnny Depp. Depp even went so far as to attend the announcement in character as his Pirate alter ego Jack Sparrow. Staggering out on stage Depp joked about drinking and having a light snack, Kermit, who “probably tasted like chicken. ” Classic Sparrow.

Of course, the audience went wild when Depp arrived. That’s simply the effect the actor, and character, have. It’s also one of the main reasons the franchise has grossed over two billion dollars worldwide. Unfortunately, Disney may have ruined their chances for continuing the very lucrative franchise with the departure (some would say ousting) of Dick Cook, now former chairman of Walt Disney Studios.

Depending on what you read, there are different theories as to what happened. Read the official Disney press statements and Cook’s resignation sounds like it was his decision. In contrast, other sources say he was fired by Disney’s chief executive Bob Iger, who cited dwindling profits for his decision: