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Avengers: Age of Ultron group poster

With just about two months to go, Marvel’s been amping up fan hype and the promotional campaign for Avengers: Age of Ultron (as if it needs one) with a group poster, character posters, and a third trailer, originally set to drop during the premiere of American Crime, but instead dropped after a Twitter campaign that lasted a little over 4 hours.

Writer-director Joss Whedon and his team bring more fan-worthy moments to this second full-length trailer as more of the plot comes to light (but still remains mostly shrouded in shadow). Tony (Robert Downey Jr.) designs the Ultron program to act as a peace-keeping around the world after events of Iron Man 3, but knowing these sorts of stories, he gets in over his head when Ultron (James Spader) goes rogue, so it’s up to the Avengers to reunite and stop him. Meanwhile, Ultron has recruited Pietro (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) and Wanda (Elizabeth Olsen), two teens granted superspeed and reality-altering powers (respectively) by a HYDRA experiment led by Baron Von Strucker (Thomas Kretschmann), to his cause.

The film’s structure comes through a little clearer here, as the Avengers go up against Ultron, escape to a farmhouse in the middle of nowhere to strategize, and return to take him out – or that’s what it seems like, anyway. There are certainly more money shots of Ultron, who sounds a little more menacing and machine-like than in the previous trailers; as for the team, Natasha (Scarlett Johansson) comes through as the strongest character, if just for her quips and whipping out her electric batons. And as for the ending … well, our Vision got a little clearer.

Also appearing and returning are Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury (of course), Don Cheadle as Rhodes/War Machine/Iron Patriot, Paul Bettany as Vision (no longer the disembodied JARVIS), Anthony Mackie as Sam Wilson/Falcon (as per the poster credits), Hayley Atwell as Peggy Carter (also as per the poster credits), Cobie Smulders as Maria Hill, Idris Elba reprising his role as Heimdall (see poster credits), and Stellan Skarsgard as Dr. Selvig (again, poster credits).

The Avengers face off against the rogue Ultron (James Spader) when Avengers: Age of Ultron blasts into US theaters on May 1, 2015.


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