'The Avengers: Age of Ultron' Adds Another Villain, Casting Thomas Kretschmann as Baron Wolfgang von Strucker

When it comes to sequels to superhero movies, you always have to add more villains, right? I'm pretty sure it's the Spider-Man 3 Rule. The Avengers: Age of Ultron isn't immune to this rule, with The Hollywood Reporter breaking the news on Wednesday that Thomas Kretschmann had joined the movie, with sources saying he would be playing Baron Wolfgang von Strucker.

When I first saw this story, I tried to figure out what I knew Kretschmann from. At first, I thought he was the freighter captain in Lost, but then I realized he was actually the boat captain in Peter Jackson's King Kong. Kretschmann has also appeared in Stalingrad, The Pianist and Cars 2.

So how about Baron Wolfgang von Strucker? First off, that's an incredibly comic book name. Strucker is a HYDRA leader, running with Captain America: The First Avenger villain Red Skull, and has fought against Captain American, Nick Fury and SHIELD. We saw hints of HYDRA tech in The Avengers, and now it looks like Joss Whedon is ready to bring the terrorist organization into the mix even more. I'd love to see Hugo Weaving return as Red Skull too.