The main villain for the highly-anticipated Avengers sequel has officially been cast.

James Spader will play Ultron, a robotic super-villain from the Marvel comics, in the 2015 film The Avengers: Age of Ultron, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Ultron is the main antagonist to The Avengers superhero team, which includes Iron Man (Robert Downey, Jr.), Thor (Chris Hemsworth) and The Hulk (Mark Ruffalo).

Spader is famous for his roles in such 1980s classics as Pretty in Pink and Sex, Lies, Videotape. He has starred on television series' such as Boston Legal, The Office and the upcoming NBC drama The Blacklist.

The Avengers director Joss Whedon, who is returning to direct the sequel, discussed Ultron's storyline in the upcoming film at Comic-Con in late July.

"We're doing our own version of the origin story of Ultron," Whedon said, adding that Ultron is "the chief villain." "He's been the Avengers villain for so long, I was amazed anyone was surprised it would be him in the movie."

Whedon told Entertainment Weekly recently that he was going to alter Ultron's character slightly from the comic book for the film.

"I knew right away what I wanted to do with him," Whedon explained. "He's always trying to destroy the Avengers, godd--- 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. So we'll take away some of those powers because at some point everybody becomes magic, and I already have someone [new character Scarlet Witch] who's a witch."

The Avengers: Age of Ultron is scheduled to be released in theaters on July 1, 2015.

Tags: The Avengers 2 Avengers: Age of Ultron James Spader