DIRECTOR JOSS WHEDON has left Twitter after the release of his film ‘Avengers: Age of Ultron’.

Whedon had faced criticism on the social media site over perceived sexism in relation to Scarlett Johansson’s Black Widow character, as well as plot points comparisons with the source comic book material.

The new film had grossed a record $191.3 million (€171.7 million) over the three-day weekend. This is the second highest in US box office history, only after Whedon’s 2012 original ‘Avengers’.

In a final message to his followers, Whedon tweeted, “Thank you to all the people who’ve been so kind and funny and inspiring up in here.”

Before leaving the site Whedon had more than 1.15 million followers.

A number of people have come to the director’s defence, with comedian Patton Oswalt saying he had been chased off the social media site by “a ‘Tea Party’ equivalent of progressivism/ liberalism”.

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There has been speculation that his departure could be down to death threats received on Twitter.

Speaking to Entertainment Weekly in 2013, the director said of the site:

It’s a fascinating medium, it’s a fascinating social phenomenon. People are like, ‘It’s like a drug.’ Yeah, and it’s like a job. It’s just another art form. Until I have a script I truly believe in or a tweet that’s really remarkable, I can just walk away and get back to the storytelling I need to do.

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