Paul Bettany to Play the Vision in 'Avengers: Age of Ultron'

Joss Whedon is directing the movie, which promises to be chock-a-block with heroes and villains. The cast of the first movie are returning, which will now include Elizabeth Olsen as the Scarlett Witch and Aaron Taylor-Johnson as Quicksilver. James Spader is playing the lead villain, Ultron, while Thomas Kretschmann will play Baron Strucker.

Bettany’s casting puts Age of Ultron and maybe even Ant-Man into a clearer lens. Ultron is a classic Marvel villain who was created by Dr. Hank Pym, who he looked at as a father figure. He eventually turned on Pym -- and humanity -- and went on to "father" his own creation, the synthetic orange-skinned android known as the Vision. Vision, in turn, rejects Ultron and joins the Avengers, eventually striking up a romance with the Scarlett Witch.

Michael Douglas is cast as Pym in Ant-Man, which opens July 17, after Age of Ultron, which is due to open May 1. It also offers up the possibility of Douglas appearing in the Avengers sequel.

It also begs the question of whether the movie takes a turn from the comic book canon and makes the Jarvis computer system the basis for the creation of Vision. 

Bettany next appears in Alcon’s Transcendence opposite Johnny Depp.