Tonight ABC is set to air the hour-long documentary special Marvel Studios: Assembling a Universe, which promises to deliver new footage from Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Guardians of the Galaxy, along with our very first look at The Avengers: Age of Ultron.
Of course, with principal photography on Joss Whedon’s hotly-anticipated 2015 sequel yet to begin, how much might we realistically see? Well, according to Kevin Feige, we’ll get more than a glimpse, with the Marvel Studios chief telling Movies.com that, “They’re advertising it as a first look, and that is an honest statement. We don’t start filming for another week and a half, so you’re not going to have a lot of first-unit footage because it doesn’t exist yet. But you certainly get more than just a peek at some of the new fun things we have in store.”
Feige then went on to wax lyrical about introducing the eponymous bad guy Ultron, who’s set to be portrayed by James Spader, saying that, “Our bad guy is great. I think people are going to very, very excited to see what we’re doing with the voice that Joss [Whedon] is bringing to life with James Spader for Ultron. We love Ultron from the comics, and have always loved Ultron, and at no point do we want him to just be a robot. We want him to have an extreme personality and attitude, and James Spader is doing an unbelievable job. Again, for us it’s always about subverting expectations. Whenever you think you know what’s coming next, we surprise people or deliver it in a slightly unexpected way. And Spader is doing that with Mr. Ultron.”
The Avengers: Age of Ultron is set for release on May 1st 2015, with a cast that also includes returning MCU stars Robert Downey Jr. (Iron Man), Chris Hemsworth (Thor), Chris Evans (Captain America), Mark Ruffalo (The Incredible Hulk), Jeremy Renner (Hawkeye), Scarlett Johansson (Black Widow), Don Cheadle (War Machine), Cobie Smulders (Maria Hill), Samuel L. Jackson (Nick Fury) and Paul Bettany (JARVIS / The Vision) alongside new additions Aaron Taylor-Johnson (Kick-Ass 2) as Quicksilver, Elizabeth Olsen (Oldboy) as the Scarlet Witch, and Thomas Kretschmann (Dracula) as Baron Strucker.
Originally published March 18, 2014. Updated April 11, 2018.
