It's been rumored for the past few months that 'The Avengers 2' would introduce the Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver to the ensemble, but this came such early on in the script process that it was taken with a grain of salt. Well, put away the seasoning: writer/director Joss Whedon has confirmed that these characters will have a role in the highly anticipated sequel.

Although not well known to the non-geek crowd, Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver have been major players in the Marvel comic book universe for upwards of 50 years. Heck, Scarlet Witch has been an Avenger longer in the comics than many of the more famous heroes, so it makes perfect sense that she'll be joining the team this time around.

Speaking with IGN, Whedon talked about how the two of them would impact the Avengers team. In true Whedon fashion, he admitted that their inclusion will only make things more difficult for his heroes:

“You know, they had a rough beginning. They’re interesting to me because they sort of represent the part of the world that wouldn’t necessarily agree with 'The Avengers.' So they’re not there to make things easier. I’m not putting any characters in the movie that will make things easier.”

As any Whedon fan will tell you, he's an angry creative god who doesn't like his characters to be happy or to live easy lives. If he says the Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver will disrupt the Avengers, he means it.

For those unfamiliar with the characters, Wanda and Pietro Maximoff are brother and sister -- she has magical, reality-altering powers and he's pretty much the Marvel Universe's version of the Flash. In the comics, they're the children of the X-Men villain Magneto, but that'll probably be written out of 'The Avengers 2' for legal reasons. (Fox owns the rights to the X-Men, after all.) Although we have no idea who will actually fill these roles, Marvel is apparently using Saoirse Ronan as the template they're looking for. So, uh, maybe they'll cast Ronan?

Whedon also addressed how Tony Stark will be involved in 'The Avengers 2' considering what goes down in the final minutes of 'Iron Man 3.' SPOILERS are in the quote below if you're on of the few remaining people who hasn't seen the film yet:

Well, I feel like in 'Iron Man 3,' even though he said, "I’ve changed" -- he blew up his remote suits, but I don’t think anybody thinks he doesn’t have one anymore. The question is, if The Avengers are called, does he show up? And the answer is, "Yes!"

'The Avengers 2' is targeting a May 1, 2015 release date.

More From ScreenCrush