Avengers: Age of Ultron has wrapped filming and is moving into post-production for its release next summer. Now things are starting to be teased and actor James Spader recently spoke about being cast in the lead role of the film's title villain, Ultron. (Via io9.com)
"I had met with Kevin [Feige] several years ago about the idea of doing some Marvel movie. Every so often there were some conversations over the years, 'maybe this, maybe that.' We both had agreed to really try and wait and find just the right thing.
"Then Joss came in to do Avengers 2, and ironically enough even though we had already talking about trying to find something, Joss came in and said, 'I want James to play Ultron.' And Kevin said, 'Well funny you should say that because… we've been looking for something.' And Joss called me and Kevin called and they said it was an 8-foot robot. And I said, 'What can I bring to that?' And Joss said, 'Everything that we can possibly get you to bring, or less if need be. If you want to have us capture the entire performance physically and you're willing to do that we would like to do that.' And I said 'I'm all in.' Whatever it is that's what I would like to do. So that's what we did.
"And so I was really excited because I, first of all, was going to be working on something that not only the material and the world that I was going to be inhabiting was going to be so different for me. But also the process of making the film was going to be an entirely new thing for me. An entirely new experience, and something that I really had no comprehension of before starting it."
Spader is the next well-respected actor who is drawn to working with Marvel Studios to play a role is their multi-franchise cinematic universe. He joins Robert Redford (Captain America: The Winter Soldier), Glenn Close (Guardians of the Galaxy), Michael Douglas (Ant-Man) and Sir Ben Kingsley (Iron Man 3, All Hail the King) to name a few.
Avengers: Age of Ultron releases in theaters on May 1, 2015.