Entertainment

'Avengers' Has Officially Found Its Villain

by Kate Ward

It's undeniably true that James Spader is so good at playing bad. So it's little wonder that both TV and movies this year have recruited the Boston Legal actor to play villains. Not only does the actor, who most recently starred as an asshole on The Office, have a starring role in NBC's The Blacklist — playing a dangerous fugitive to helps the FBI — but Spader has scored something even bigger than his own series: a role in the Avengers sequel as its main asshole villain.

And it's a big role to boot. On Thursday comes news that the follow-up has cast Spader to play Ultron, a character so important, his name is even in the movie's title. Indeed, The Avengers: Age of Ultron centers on the Marvel superheroes' battle against the supervillain, who's known in the comic book universe for creating the Masters of Evil, a group of big bads who could fight against Iron Man, Captain America, The Hulk, and more.

The role is a huge get for Spader, even though Marvel should feel lucky to have him — if there's anyone who could master dialogue from director Joss Whedon, it's the actor who's been playing smart and smarmy for decades. Don't believe us? Just watch below and tell us that you don't want Hulk to punch Spader in the face come The Avengers: Age of Ultron's May 1, 2015 release.