We’ve seen a handful of set photos, but Marvel Studios have now finally revealed our first official look at Joss Whedon’s sequel to 2012’s hugely successful Avengers Assemble; Avengers: Age of Ultron.
On the cover of the latest issue of Entertainment Weekly, we see Chris Evans as Steve Rogers/Captain America and Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark/Iron Man, with the villainous Ultron (who will be voiced by The Blacklist’s James Spader) and his robotic army lurking in the background as the world burns.
They also have the first plot details for the movie, and reveal that Avengers: Age of Ultron will feature Tony Stark creating Ultron – a self-aware, self-teaching, artificial intelligence designed to help assess threats, and direct Stark’s Iron Legion of drones – in order to allow himself to walk away from the Iron Man armour and for his fellow Avengers to also get some much needed R&R as they strive to protect the world.
Unfortunately, just as in the comic books, Ultron decides that life on Earth would be much better for humans…if they no longer existed! “Ultron sees the big picture and he goes, ‘Okay, we need radical change, which will be violent and appalling, in order to make everything better’; he’s not just going ‘Muhaha, soon I’ll rule!’” director Joss Whedon tells the magazine. “He’s on a mission. He wants to save us.”
The new stills (which you can see the full-size version of by clicking on the thumbnails below) give us a great look at new and returning characters, including Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch. We also see a surprise cameo from Iron Man 3’s Don Cheadle as Rhodey hanging around with Earth’s Mightiest Heroes in Avengers Tower!
