Joss Whedon
Reuters

Director Joss Whedon has been talking about the tone of forthcoming super-sequel Avengers: Age of Ultron.

Speaking in the latest issue of Total Film, Whedon also once again cited The Godfather Part II as a big influence.

"The model I'm always trying to build from is The Godfather Part II, where a ton has happened in between and it's a very different movie, but you don't need any information," he said. "You're in the vernacular of the first movie and you're ready to just pick up in this new place," he continued. "It's got a sci-fi element to it that's stronger than the other film. And it's a little bit darker.

"Getting the team together was so rousing, but keeping the team together is a completely different problem."

The darker tone is now a standard for sequels but what of the sci-fi comment? The first film had a significant cosmic influence of course, but this new film will be infused with a different kind of science fiction focused more on the science than the fiction.

For a start there's the android villain played by James Spader. His new, Ant-Man-less origin is still a matter of debate, but he could well be cause for a lot of regret from whoever does create the robot psychopath.

Another element will be the twins Quicksilver (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) and Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) whose powers won't stem from traditional mutants due to Fox owning the rights to the X-Men and the use of Marvel mutants on film.

What we know is that HYDRA and Baron Von Strucker (Thomas Kretschmann) have been experimenting on the pair, and probably not in a way showing any regard for their subjects' wellbeing.

'Avengers: Age of Ultron' stars Robert Downey Jr, Scarlett Johansson, Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth and Jeremy Renner. It will be released on 24 April 2015.