If you cast your mind back to January, you may recall that King Kong’s Thomas Kretschmann joined Avengers sequel Age Of Ultron in the back-up baddie role of Baron Wolfgang von Strucker. With shooting on the superhero sequel now underway, Kretschmann has talked to German newspaper B.Z. Berlin and let slip that, in true Marvel fashion, he’s signed for more than one movie.
“I have a multi-picture deal which means I will not only appear in the second part, but they're planning with me for a longer period of time,” he says. “But I don't know details yet, they're keeping their cards close to their chest – top secret!”
Well, of course you’d say that, you scheming Hydra operative! And, of course, just because he’s signed a multiple film deal, doesn’t mean the option will be picked up, even if it appears that Age Of Ultron won’t be the last we’ll see of the villainous Nazi-turned-Hydra key figure.
Given that he’s a big troublemaker in Captain America’s stories, could we be meeting Strucker earlier than expected? Kretschmann goes on to tell the paper that he’s already worked with Ultron director Joss Whedon: “I was nervous. I was overprepared; then on the set I went up to Joss Whedon, who passes for a genius, and said, 'this is my first day, this is huge, please have patience with me, I'm a bit nervous.'”
That could well indicate that he has simply shot early footage for the next superhero team-up, but also that we might see something of him in the typically last-minute tag for **Captain America: The Winter Solider **(which has already been teased by Disney boss Robert Iger)…
We’ll have to wait and see on that front. But with the third Cap film now in development, it appears certain there will be more Strucker on our screens. The Avengers: Age Of Ultron, meanwhile, is out on May 1, 2015.