‘The Avengers 2′: James Spader’s Ultron Will Break the Heroes Into Pieces, Says Whedon

Superhero movie casting is often controversial, inspiring much wailing and gnashing of teeth from fanboys, but you'd be hard-pressed to find anyone who thinks that James Spader playing Ultron in 'The Avengers: Age of Ultron' is a bad idea. The three-time Emmy award-winning star of 'Boston Legal' and 'The Practice' feels like the right fit for Marvel. He's also the exact kind of actor that writer/director Joss Whedon wanted in his movie.

In a statement to the Marvel video show "The Watcher" (via SlashFilm), Whedon discussed his decision to cast Spader as an unstoppable robotic villain with a bone to pick with Earth's mightiest heroes. Actually, it sounds like it was less of a decision and more of a requirement:

Spader was my first and only choice. He’s got that hypnotic voice that can be eerily calm and compelling, but he’s also very human and humorous. Ultron is not Hal. Spader can play all of the levels. He’s the guy to break The Avengers into pieces. Muwahaha.

Only Whedon would include an evil laugh in his written statement, which is one of the reasons we will always love him.

We still have no idea exactly how the film will treat Ultron (aside from the rumors that Tony Stark could potentially create him), but Whedon previously stated that "[Ultron's] got pain. And the way that manifests is not going to be standard robot stuff." By explicitly saying that Ultron is not HAL 9000 from '2001: A Space Odyssey,' Whedon makes it clear that we can expect an evil bot who's not afraid to verbally duel and toy with his super-powered opponents. Heck, it wouldn't be a Joss Whedon production if the characters didn't have extended conversations full of witty insults and clever retorts.

'The Avengers: Age of Ultron' will hit theaters on May 1, 2015.