Has Joss Whedon Found His Quicksilver?

Production on Nerd-God Joss Whedon’s follow-up to Marvel’s The Avengers is set to begin in earnest early next year. As such, news about casting and out logistical preparation for the film have already begun to surface. Arguably the most interesting announcement about the film that has been revealed to date was Whedon’s confirmation a few months back of his plan to include Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch in the sequel.

At the time of Whedon’s reveal, rumor had it that Aaron Taylor-Johnson, he of Kick-Ass fame, was the frontrunner to play Pietro Maximoff (just don’t call him Quicksilver). Now comes news that, while doing press in support of the release of Kick-Ass 2 (heads up – the linked trailer is very much NSFW) the actor confirmed he has indeed been taking meetings with Whedon and Marvel about stepping into the speedster role.

More news about Taylor-Johnson and The Avengers: Age of Ultron, after the jump…

Taylor-Johnson sat down with Steve from Collider recently, and was asked point-blank if he has already signed on for Age of Ultron. The young English star confirmed that he has indeed been approached about joining the ensemble, but stopped short of saying he had reached an agreement:

“I feel really flattered and honored that they came to me for that role.  I think he’s an interesting character and we’re just gonna keep going into that.  I sat down with Joss, I think he’s awesome, I sat down with the guys at Marvel and they’re also great; I think it’d be interesting.”

While Taylor-Johnson did not go into further details about the specifics of his involvement, his willingness to discuss the opportunity would seem to suggest that negotiations of some sort between are fairly far along . 

One reason this development is particularly noteworthy – or, at least worth mentioning – is that signing a contract with Marvel Studios constitutes agreeing to appear in anywhere from 4 to 9 other movies in the future. So, signing up for Age of Ultron also means signing on to be part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe for the next decade or so. Even if the character in question is only a supporting player (Quicksilver seems like an unlikely candidate to get his own spin-off), that kind of commitment has a very significant impact on an actor’s calendar and availability to pursue other roles.

Taylor-Johnson acknowledged precisely this and said that the prospect of such a commitment was “nerve-wracking”, which would seem to echo the initial hesitation Chris Evans publicly had prior to agreeing to become Captain America.

Whether he ultimately suits up and joins the rest of the Avengers in Age of Ultron or not, Taylor-Johnson will presumably have tentpole moviemaking on his schedule for the foreseeable future: next year he will star in director Gareth Edwards’ rebooted take on Godzilla (this time sans P.Diddy & Jimmy Page or Ferris-Bueller-as-an-Action-Hero), where he will be joined by Bryan Cranston and Elizabeth Olsen.

The Avengers: Age of Ultron – featuring whomever ends up playing Pietro – is set to break box-office records everywhere on May 1, 2015.