Joss Whedon Talks About the Version of Ultron We'll See in His 'The Avengers' Sequel

Yesterday, we heard Ant-Man director Edgar Wright tell us why we wouldn't be seeing Ultron in his movie. On Wednesday, Entertainment Weekly gave us Joss Whedon's view of how the villain would fit into The Avengers: Age of Ultron. We already know that Ultron won't be created by Hank Pym in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but that's not the only change that the Avengers sequel director has planned for the character.

“I knew right away what I wanted to do with him,” Whedon says. “He’s always trying to destroy the Avengers, goddamn it, he’s got a bee in his bonnet. He’s not a happy guy, which means he’s an interesting guy. He’s got pain. And the way that manifests is not going to be standard robot stuff. So we’ll take away some of those powers because at some point everybody becomes magic, and I already have someone [a new character, Scarlet Witch] who’s a witch.” 

Whedon adds that he has to be careful “to ground [the character] while still evoking that guy.” And like a certain giant green Avenger hero, it sounds like large doses of rage will be key to his personality. “As a character I love [Ultron],” Whedon says, “because he’s so pissed off.”

Ultron is a pretty powerful character in the comics, most recently taking over the world ... from the future. While the Marvel Cinematic Universe has been expanding in terms of what's believable (Guardians of the Galaxy, Thanos, a Scarlet Witch who's actually a witch), Whedon is wise to find a way to ground Ultron close to the world already established in The Avengers.

Speaking of the Scarlet Witch, based on Whedon's quote about "I already have someone who's a witch," it looks like Marvel is ready to introduce magic into the Cinematic Universe instead of just explaining the character's powers through the "advanced science looks like magic" idea that Thor preached. Hopefully this means we'll get to see Elizabeth Olsen casting some spells as the Avengers battle Ultron.