Joss Whedon Describes Why Quicksilver And Scarlet Witch Are In 'The Avengers 2;' Hints At New Villain

The mutant speedster superhero Quicksilver found himself at the center of two competing Marvel movies last week. We already heard Joss Whedon wrote Quicksilver and his sister, the Scarlet Witch, into The Avengers 2. Then Bryan Singer shocked us by casting Evan Peters as the same character in X-Men: Days of Future Past, set in an entirely different universe. Rumors swirled about a Marvel vs. 20th Century Fox pissing match and while those can be neither confirmed or denied, one of the principals did appear in public to talk about the character.

Joss Whedon was on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon last week and explained why he inserted the characters into The Avengers 2. He doesn't mention Singer's film explicitly but he explains the subjective, and objective reasons they'll be in his film. Read that, as well as a quote teasing the sequel's villain, below.

Here's the video from Fallon (via SHH) and quotes are below:

If the video isn't working for you, here's exactly what Whedon said when Fallon asked him for a scoop on The Avengers 2:

There are new characters. I've already said that we're going to have a brother-sister team, the Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver, who were great mainstays of The Avengers when I was reading the comics as a kid.

Fallon asked if they'd been cast, to which Whedon said "Not yet, we're doing that now." Fallon suggested Selena Gomez and Channing Tatum, which got zero reaction from the director.

Finally, Fallon asked why bring Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch into the mix:

Well, besides the fact that I grew up reading them, their powers are very visually interesting. One of the problems I had on the first one was, everybody basically had punchy powers. 'I can hit,' 'I can also hit.' Hopefully it didn't get too boring. But coming into the second one, he's got super speed. She can weave spells and a little telekinesis, get inside your head. There's good stuff that they can do that will help sort of keep it fresh.

Add that to his comments a few weeks ago where he said "They're interesting to me because they sort of represent the part of the world that wouldn't necessarily agree with The Avengers" and you being to see the characters take shape.

Whedon also spoke about the film in Empire (via CBM) and talked about the struggles working on the film. In the quote, he confirms that the villain is singular and male:

I'm very excited about the villain, and have a lot to say about him. But if you watch my shows the one thing I've never been very good at is guest stars, because I've always been so interested in the ensemble. With The Avengers, I'm still most fascinated by them. How do these guys feel, and what's the way they conflict, and what's the unexpected way they connect? Forming a team is one story; being a team is a very different story. The other thing is, you don't try to top it. I know I will never make as pleasing a moment in a film as Hulk and Loki. You can't chase that dragon. If you try to do exactly the same thing, the chances you're going to do it better are very slim, and the only reason for me to devote three years to making another Avengers movie is the hope of making a better one.

Do you think Quicksilver will have a meatier role in The Avengers 2 vs. X-Men: Days of Future Past? Does Whedon's reasoning work for you? And do you think Thanos is the villain?