Ultron Isn't the Only Villain in 'Avengers: Age of Ultron'

Sunday, 22 December 2013 12:57 Written by Jordan DeSaulnier

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Ultron Isn't the Only Villain in 'Avengers: Age of Ultron'

The title of Avengers: Age of Ultron makes it clear just which Marvel heavy will cause Nick Fury to send an "Assemble!" group text to Earth's Mightiest Heroes.

It seems that the mechanical man won't be alone, however, as the identity of a supplemental villain – one with a connection to some Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch – in the Avengers sequel has been revealed.

Marvel Studios has kept a tight lid on the second installment of its premiere franchise, but as Joss Whedon gears up to actually start shooting the sequel early in 2014, the lid is slowly but surely loosening up. We recently learned that Don Cheadle's James "Rhodey" Rhodes has a significant part to play in Avengers: Age of Ultron.

And now we know about this second bad guy, Baron Von Strucker, is also going to stick it to our heroes.

Having equipped himself to be functionally immortal, this bald bad guy is the shot-caller at HYDRA, the glass-jawed Nazi offshoot that Cap gave a patriotic uppercut in Captain America: The First Avenger.

Latino Review revealed Von Strucker's involvement, reporting that Marvel is eyeballing at actors like Dougray Scott and Marton Csokas to potentially play the role. Scottish actor Scott was Bryan Singer's initial choice to play Wolverine in X-Men, but scheduling problems with Mission: Impossible II kept that from happening. Csokas, meanwhile, appears in next year's comic book sequels The Amazing Spider-Man 2 and Sin City: A Dame to Kill For.

Neither actor has been offered the part by any means, but they give an indicator of what Whedon and company are looking for in an actor to play the monocle-wearing ex-Nazi.

Baron Von Strucker, it seems, is the employer of the superpowered Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch, played by Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Elizabeth Olsen. Hitfix confirms as much and elaborates on just what to expect. According to Drew McWeeny, "If you look at this like a James Bond movie, Von Strucker's the bad guy they'll take care of in the pre-credits sequence before they move into the main story. Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch have a complicated journey in this film, and the question of whether they're good or bad is one of the big things driving the movie overall."

Whoever ends up playing the bad guy, he'll be joining James Spader as Ultron, along with returning Avengers players Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Samuel L. Jackson, Cobie Smulders.

Avengers: Age of Ultron is scheduled to hit theaters on May 1, 2015.