While we know the majority of our cast will return for Joss Whedon‘s follow-up to The Avengers, there have been many rumors floating around regarding new ensemble members. With Aaron Taylor-Johnson confirmed and Elizabeth Olsen close to signing, Marvel has revealed another addition and perhaps the biggest, as the mega-villain role of Ultron will go to James Spader. The star of David Cronenberg‘s Crash has recently popped up in Lincoln and a stint on The Office, but this will easily provide him his most exposure yet. Check out the press release below and for more details on the character, head over to Wikipedia.
James Spader will face off against Earth’s Mightiest Heroes as the villain in Marvel’s “Avengers: Age of Ultron,” the sequel to 2012’s record-breaking “Marvel’s The Avengers.” The Emmy Award-winning actor will play Ultron in the Avengers’ much anticipated return to the big screen from writer/director Joss Whedon. The film comes to theaters on May 1, 2015.
Spader earned three Emmy Awards for his role as Alan Shore on “Boston Legal” and “The Practice,” and will return to television this fall in NBC’s highly anticipated series “The Blacklist.” Most recently Spader was seen in the critically-acclaimed film “Lincoln” directed by Steven Spielberg and has previously worked with a long list of accomplished film directors including David Cronenberg, Curtis Hansen, Sidney Lumet, Mike Nichols, Tim Robbins, Robert Rodriguez, Steven Soderbergh, and Oliver Stone. David Mamet also directed Spader in the Broadway play Race.
“Avengers: Age of Ultron” will bring the Marvel Universe’s biggest heroes together again to face one of their biggest villains, with “Marvel’s The Avengers” director Joss Whedon returning to write and direct the sequel. “Marvel’s The Avengers” was released in 2012 and went on to earn $1.5 billion worldwide, making it the third-largest grossing movie of all time.
Spader is represented by ICM Partners and his lawyer Melanie Cook at Ziffren Brittenham.
What do you think of the casting choice?