James Spader acting in a Joss Whedon-directed superhero movie – few things could delight a nerdy comic book/film fan more than this. The actor has just signed on to play the villain in Avengers: Age of Ultron, Entertainment Weekly reports. Three-time Emmy winner James Spader playing a killer psycho robot? That sounds pretty excellent.

James Spader, NBC TSA Summer Tour
Spader as Ultron - what do you think?

According to an EW interview with Joss Whedon, the character is going to be a sort of moving, rather aggressive HAL – that is, an artificial intelligence with a god complex, who is angry at his creators and ultimately bent on destroying the world. In classic Joss Whedon fashion, if we might add. Longtime fans of Whedon’s work would know that the director/screenwriter does leans towards the complicated troubled types quite heavily in his work.

Joss Whedon, Much Ado About Nothing
Joss Whedon does seem to love a good god complex in his characters.

“I knew right away what I wanted to do with him,” Whedon said to EW about the character. “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. “

Of course, Spader won’t be appearing in the flesh, but it is still up for debate whether he will play the character via motion capture, a la Mark Ruffalo’s Hulk, or simply lend his voice to the part. Since the Boston Legal actor is currently working on the upcoming NBC series The Blacklist, it’s likely that his engagement won’t be too intense.

James Spader, NBC Upfront Presentation
Spader is likely to have only a limited engagement.