Following previous reports that Elizabeth Olsen and Aaron Taylor-Johnson were joining the cast of The Avengers: Age of Ultron, Marvel has passed along official confirmation of the casting. As expected, Olsen and Taylor-Johnson will play the brother-sister duo of Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver respectively in the hugely anticipated installment to the Avengers feature franchise, which is lined up to arrive in theaters May 1, 2015.
Samuel L. Jackson actually confirmed Olsen’s casting and role back in October, and if it’s coming from Nick Fury, you know it’s true. And then later last month we heard that the rumors about Aaron Taylor-Johnson playing Quicksilver were true. Today, Marvel confirmed the casting, noting the brother-sister connection of these two characters, but neglecting to mention that these two are the mutant offspring of Magneto. It’s possible that little nugget of trivia will be left out in Age of Ultron, as Twentieth Century Fox has the rights to Magneto, and might not take too kindly to any kind of name-dropping or direct references that might be made to elaborate on Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch’s history. But would it be so hard to imagine a very subtle nod to dear old dad? If there’s any way they can do that without getting sued, we wouldn’t put it past Joss Whedon to work it in, because...
Quicksilver has the ability to run at superhuman speeds, while Scarlet Witch can manipulate probability and create hexes.
Aaron Taylor-Johnson is no stranger to playing kick-ass characters, having played the title role in the Kick-Ass films. His credits expand beyond superhero stories, however, with parts in Anna Karenina, Savages and Gareth Edwards’ upcoming Godzilla, in which Olsen is also set to appear. Olsen’s credits include the upcoming Oldboy remake, along with Kill Your Darlings, Martha Marcy May Marlene and Silent House. She’s also known for being the younger sister to twins Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen. Her talent hasn’t gone unnoticed, as she received numerous award nominations (and some wins) for her role in Martha Marcy May Marlene, and she received a BAFTA nomination this year for the Rising Star Award.
Olsen and Taylor-Johnson join returning Avengers Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo and Robert Downey Jr. James Spader is also set to star in the film, playing the robotic villain Ultron. While Marvel fans have well over a year to wait for Age of Ultron, we also have Guardians of the Galaxy to look forward to next August, and Captain America: The Winter Soldier on deck for April. And then there’s Ant-Man, which — like The Avengers: Age of Ultron — won’t hit screens until Summer 2015.
