Marvel has released the first official images from “Avengers 2: Age of Ultron” in an exclusive Comic-Con issue of Entertainment Weekly, which gives fans their first view of the legendary villain from the most-anticipated superhero sequel of all time.
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The genocidal artificial intelligence accidentally created by Hank Pym, a.k.a. Ant Man (who’s getting his own feature film) looks very similar to his original comic book incarnation, and will be played by James Spader.
“Ultron sees the big picture and he goes, ‘Okay, we need radical change, which will be violent and appalling, in order to make everything better,’” director Joss Whedon told EW. “He’s not just going, ‘Muhaha, soon I’ll rule!’ … He’s on a mission, he wants to save us.”
“Age of Ultron” takes its title from the 2013 comic book storyline of the same name in which Ultron succeeds in conquering Earth and nearly wiping out humanity with an army of homicidal robots.
The Avengers battle through the dystopian wasteland and eventually alternate timelines to try and stop the malevolent AI.
“Avengers 2: Age of Ultron” is scheduled to hit theaters May 1, 2015.