Joss Whedon on casting James Spader in The Avengers: Age of Ultron

Last month it was announced that Joss Whedon had found his villain for Marvel's hotly-anticipated sequel The Avengers: Age of Ultron and now the fanboy favourite writer-director has given his first words on the casting of James Spader (Stargate, Boston Legal) as the malevolent artificial intelligence.

"Spader was my first and only choice," Whedon tells The Watcher. "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 [from 2001: A Space Odyssey]. Spader can play all of the levels. He's the guy to break The Avengers into pieces."

The Avengers: Age of Ultron is set for release on May 1st 2015, with Spader set to be joined in the cast by returning Avengers stars Robert Downey Jr. (Iron Man), Chris Hemsworth (Thor), Chris Evans (Captain America) Scarlett Johansson (Black Widow), Mark Ruffalo (The Incredible Hulk), and Jeremy Renner (Hawkeye).