'Avengers: Age of Ultron' casts Thomas Kretschmann as second villain

Thomas Kretschmann has signed on to play a villain in Joss Whedon's Marvel sequel, Avengers: Age of Ultron.

The Dracula actor joins newcomers Elizabeth Olsen, Aaron Taylor-Johnson and James Spader -- who will play Ultron, the main villain -- in the second installment of The Avengers saga. The film will follow The Avengers as they "reassemble to battle the sentient robot known as Ultron."

Whedon is writing and directing the sequel which reunites most of the cast from his 2012 box office hit, The Avengers.

Sources say that Kretschmann will likely play Baron Wolfgang von Strucker, a former Nazi officer antagonist to Captain America (Chris Evans) and Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson).

Age of Ultron is scheduled to hit theaters on May 1, 2015.

[Hollywood Reporter]