The star of Boston Legal, Stargate, Sex, Lies, and Videotape and this fall’s NBC drama The Blacklist will play the powerful, rampaging robot in Marvel’s The Avengers: Age of Ultron. UPDATED with Joss Whedon’s reaction.
But Spader is about to star in NBC's upcoming drama The Blacklist, one of the more promising new series of the season.
Marvel's announcement said Spader was "playing" Ultron, not "voicing" him, which implies Spader will be physically shooting the role via "performance capture," like Mark Ruffalo did with The Hulk in The Avengers.
The pilot for The Blacklist, however, is very Spader heavy. It is being sold largely with his face, and NBC seems particularly bullish on the show. So if it lasts until the spring, when The Avengers: Age of Ultron is expected to go into production, Spader, Marvel, and NBC could find themselves in a scheduling pickle. Not an insurmountable one, but tricky nonetheless.
Phil Mccarten / Reuters
Spader is also known for…how to put this? Taking on roles that are really, really kinky.
Does this mean we'll get a scene in which Ultron angrily yet amorously spanks Iron Man? Joss Whedon, are you paying attention?