Marvel Studios has found its Ultron. James Spader (Boston Legal; The Office; The Practice) has been announced to play the legendary villain in Marvel’s Avengers: Age of Ultron. Putting many rumors to rest, the three-time Emmy Award winning actor will face off against Earth’s mightiest heroes on the big screen May 1, 2015.

Coming off the recent Ben Affleck as Batman casting news, this big announcement made by Marvel this morning has come off as a bit of a surprise, but nowhere near as controversial. Marvel Studios has had the upper hand against DC Entertainment since after The Dark Knight debuted in 2008. Since both studios have been very open with their casting news lately, perhaps we’ll soon hear who will play Lex Luthor – as many have come to the hope and assumption that it may be Bryan Cranston.

Spader himself is more recently famous for his role in Boston Legal, earning himself two Emmy wins. His filmography accredits him in such flicks as Sex, Lies, and Videotape, Lincoln, Stargate, Pretty in Pink, and Wall Street. This fall, Spader is set to appear in the new NBC series “The Blacklist.” But I mainly know him as Jason ‘Stanky’ Hanky from the episode of Seinfeld entitled, “The Apology”:

As to whether or not he will just provide the voice of the villain or also include motion capture acting to this portrayal of Ultron is yet to be announced. Age of Ultron brings back Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark aka Iron Man, Chris Evans as Steve Rogers aka Captain America, Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner aka The Hulk, Chris Hemsworth as Thor, Scarlett Johansson as Natasha Romanoff aka Black Widow, Jeremy Renner as Clint Barton aka Hawkeye, Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury, and Cobie Smulders as Agent Maria Hill. Joss Whedon has confirmed that mutant super powered siblings The Scarlett Witch and Quicksilver will play a part in the Avengers sequel, but not casting announcements have been confirmed.

It’s may be a bit early to hear what the other actors are saying about Spader’s casting, but the legend himself, Loki aka Tom Hiddleston, who tried to conquer Earth in the first film had this to say:

The Avengers went on to earn $1.5 billion worldwide last year; the third-largest grossing movie of all time. There is no doubt that Age of Ultron will be an even bigger success now that most of the characters have been well established and an even bigger lineup of movies leading up to the highly-anticipated sequel. Avengers: Age of Ultron hits theaters May 1, 2015.

Thor: The Dark World releases November 8, 2013, Captain America: The Winter Soldier releases April 4, 2014, Guardians of the Galaxy releases August 1, 2014, and Ant-Man is set for a November 6, 2015 release

Follow TTRC on Twitter and Facebook for more updates.

Source: Marvel