jamesspader-ultron

Marvel has confirmed that James Spader will play Ultron in Avengers: Age of Ultron. It has been reported that the character’s origin story will differ from the comics and that Henry Pym (Ant-Man) won’t be its creator. Now the biggest question is how the 53 year-old actor will represent on screen the autonomous and evil robot.

Here are a few ideas and the challenges they would face.

For your ears only

Spader could play just the artificial intelligence, providing only his voice without ever appearing on screen, like Paul Bettany does with Jarvis.

Challenge: Knowing Joss Whedon it is very unlikely that he would completely hide a talented actor like Spader in such a prominent role.

Age-of-ultron

Transmorpher

Ultron can morph into human shape a la T-1000. For some reason chooses James Spader’s physic.

Challenge: That level of technology couldn’t be man made. It would be harder to swallow than the Extremis mercenaries in Iron Man 3. Aliens are part of this universe so everything is on the table.

The suit makes the madman

He creates a mecha suit, trying to emulate Tony Stark, but he gets trapped and the machine controls him. It could be interested because with a human victim inside, the heroes would be conflicted about destroying Ultron.

Challenge: Too similar to the villains in the first Iron Man and the latest Wolverine.

Hybrid monster

Ultron is an abomination made of flesh and circuits, like an upgraded Frankenstein monster.

Challenge: Disney may not be on board with something that could perturb kids and make toys very creepy.

Remote control

Taking the remote control system featured in Iron Man 3, Spader’s character could be a puppet master from a safe distance.

Challenge: But making Ultron just a mindless tool would make him kind of boring and it would be a huge departure from the comics.

How do you think they will portray James Spader as Ultron?

Avengers: Age of Ultron comes to theaters on May 1, 2015.