Thomas Kretschmann has been cast in director Joss Whedon’s The Avengers: Age of Ultron as one of the film’s villains.

Kretschmann, who plays Abraham van Helsing on NBC’s Dracula, has signed on for a major villain role according to The Hollywood Reporter. The role isn’t known yet, but we know that the main villain will be played by James Spader.

We imagine he may be the human element that will somehow get The Avengers involved with Ultron at some point. Not much is known about director Joss Whedon’s Avengers sequel, but the cast is filling out nicely with Marvel most recently confirming that Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Elizabeth Olsen will be playing Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver.

There’s reports that Kretschmann could be playing Baron Wolfgang von Strucker, who is also an antagonist for Captain America. He is a Nazi officer who becomes one the major heads of HYDRA. Kretschmann has portrayed German soldiers previously in Stalingrad, The Pianist and Valkyrie.

Kretschmann is also known for his roles in the film Wanted, alongside Angelina Jolie, as well as in director Peter Jackson’s King Kong remake as Captain Englehorn.

The Avengers: Age of Ultron will be directed by Joss Whedon and hits theaters May 2015. You can watch a small teaser trailer in our previous story.