The casting for Joss Whedon’s hugely anticipated sequel, Avengers: Age of Ultron, has been coming along very nicely in recent months.
Aaron Taylor-Johnson (Kick-Ass) has been eyed for the role of Quicksilver in the 2015 blockbuster, and Elizabeth Olsen (Martha Marcy May Marlene) has more recently been linked to the role of his on-screen sister, Scarlet Witch.
Now Marvel confirm that the film’s legendary villain has been found, announcing that James Spader (Boston Legal) has been cast as the titular Ultron.
Spader has three Emmys to his name for his roles in Boston Legal and The Practice, and is perhaps best known for his performances on the big screen in Secretary and Stargate. More recently, he’s been seen in just over two dozen episodes of The Office and Steven Spielberg’s Lincoln, and is set to return to the small screen later this year in NBC’s The Blacklist alongside Megan Boone, Parminder Nagra, and Harry Lennix.
Following the announcement at Comic-Con of the movie’s title – Avengers: Age of Ultron – Joss Whedon quickly revealed that the movie isn’t based on the eponymous comic series, and that he’ll be giving Ultron a new origin story.
And if you’ve seen pretty much any of Whedon’s work, naturally including last year’s The Avengers, then you’ll no doubt agree that he’s the best man for the job.
Whedon will once more be directing from his own script, with production expected to get underway early next year.
Avengers: Age of Ultron is set to hit cinemas on May 1st, 2015, bringing a close to Phase Two of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, before Edgar Wright kick-starts Phase Three with Ant-Man later that year.
