A little over a year ago Avengers helmer Joss Whedon revealed that he was working on his own indie project, secretly adapting and directing a modern version of Shakespeare’s classic comedy Much Ado About Nothing.  Bellwether Pictures, a “micro-studio” created by Whedon and his wife Kai Cole, backed the black-and-white project which was shot on a small budget in just twelve days inside Whedon’s Santa Monica, California-based home. The ensemble cast is comprised of many of Whedon’s past collaborators: Amy Acker (Dollhouse) and Alexis Denisof (Buffy, Angel), Nathan Fillion (Firefly), Clark Gregg (The Avengers), Fran Kranz (Dollhouse), and Sean Maher (Firefly). For more on the movie, click back to the original article.

When all of this was first announced, Whedon merely mentioned that it was all put together for fun hoping that one day it would be shown in theatres. “I’ve just been enjoying the Internet response,” he shared with EW. “We’re feeling our way on this one, just like Dr. Horrible. I do mean it to be in theaters. But we haven’t gotten any real plan except [going to] film festivals because it sounded like it would be festive.”

Since then, Much Ado was screened at the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival to rave reviews and shortly thereafter North American distribution rights were acquired by Lionsgate and Roadside Attractions. Just yesterday a theatrical release date was set: June 7, 2013.

We’ve already seen what Joss can do with a huge budget and Hollywood’s hottest stars. Though Much Ado falls on the opposite spectrum of everything that was Marvel’s The Avengers, fans will flock to theatres to watch the man perform movie magic again, this time with a truly personal touch. Much like Dr. Horrible, Much Ado is a passion project for Joss and audiences will notice.