Lionsgate Acquires Joss Whedon’s Much Ado About Nothing Movie

Lionsgate has struck a distribution deal for Joss Whedon’s independent film version of Much Ado About Nothing, which recently premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival, according to Deadline.com.

The Shakespearean adaptation, which The Avengers director shot in 12 days at his home in Santa Monica, CA, had strong buzz going into the festival and was expected to be one of the first purchases of the event.

Whedon’s homemade Much Ado stars former Angel cast members Amy Acker and Alexis Denisof as adversarial lovers Beatrice and Benedick. The cast also stars Nathan Fillion as Dogberry, Fran Kranz as Claudio, Jillian Morgese as Hero, Sean Maher as Don John, Clark Gregg as Leonato and Reed Diamond as Don Pedro.