In an interview with Total Film (via ComicBookMovie), Stellan Skarsgård has revealed that he will return as Dr. Erik Selvig in Avengers: Age of Ultron. That marks Skarsgård’s fourth appearance in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. In the interview, the Swedish actor talked about first playing the character in Thor, and admitted to knowing very little about the Marvel universe before signing on…
“What I said to Kevin Feige, the head of Marvel, was, ‘All those superheroes? Still in those comic books? Can you make money out of that?’ The whole table just froze and looked at me as if I was an idiot. But you sign on for at least five films, I think. Or I did. I’m going to do my fourth. I’m going to be in Avengers: Age Of Ultron, a small appearance. It’s something really nice. Even if it’s owned by Disney now, it’s really run by four or five people, and they know exactly what they’re doing. I like working with them because if I have a problem with the scene, I have Kevin Feige’s number. I can call the head of the studio. You can’t do that when you work on a normal Disney film or with Warner Bros or Paramount.”
For those who enjoyed seeing Dr. Selvig run around naked in Thor: The Dark World, you’re in luck, because apparently Skarsgård will don his birthday suit once more in Joss Whedon’s jam-packed superhero sequel:
“Yeah, I was naked again. They called my agent and said, ‘Do you think Stellan will mind being naked?’ My agent laughed his head off. Yeah, I almost insist! Sometimes with a contract you get a nudity clause, which is fantastic. It’s supposed to protect me from having my genitals exploited, which I doubt anybody would make a dime on.”
So, what could Dr. Selvig be doing in the Marvel-verse this time around? He was instrumental in helping (and then stopping) Loki in The Avengers, then lost his marbles a bit in Thor: The Dark World, but came around to help save the day once more. Will Earth’s Mightiest Heroes refer to his expertise (sans clothes) once more?
We’ll have to wait and see until Avengers: Age of Ultron hits theaters on May 1, 2015. Directed by Joss Whedon, the film stars Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Scarlet Johansson, Cobie Smulders, Samuel L. Jackson, Jeremy Renner, Don Cheadle, Paul Bettany, James Spader, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Elizabeth Olsen, Thomas Krestschmann and Stellan Skarsgard.
Originally published August 17, 2014. Updated December 13, 2019.
