"Avengers: Age of Ultron" Director Joss Whedon has been the mastermind behind the highly anticipated sequel, which is on the horizon -- just six months away!

It may sound like a long time, but Whedon has been experiencing a revival or a rebirth of some sorts in comparison to his first movie. As shooting has been underway, Whedon has become more hands-on and completely and utterly invested in every aspect of the film.

"The first one was raggedy. I was a raggedy man when I made that film. It did take a lot out of me," he told IGN in London earlier this year on the set of the sequel. "Going in this time, I was like, I just had to sort of recalibrate my entire existence and, throw myself into it more wholeheartedly and say, 'Okay, let's actually make it harder and I'm gonna just invest myself in every part of it: In every production meeting, every location scout, and every question about a prop that I'd like to avoid. I might even work harder on the script. There's nothing that I'm not going to be a part of. I'm gonna give myself up to it -- like a Christian to a lion.'" Whedon added.

What is it about Ultron that makes him stand out from the rest of comic book villains?

Relatability?

"You know, hopefully, you will come out of this, if not agreeing with him, then getting him, and getting his pain, which leads to a lot of damage, and some humor," he told IGN. "The important thing for me is he's not this external thing. He's not, you know, 'Independence Day'. I'm not criticizing that movie, but I'm saying that when he's in his scenes, you want to feel like he will never understand that he's not the hero."

"The Blacklist" star James Spader, who plays Ultron, commands both the small and big screen with his presence, so what vibe will he bring to "Avengers 2: Age of Ultron?"

"Well, Ultron feels a certain distance from humanity, and the day Spader got here we put on the mocap pajamas, a giant thing with red dots on it for his eye line, and, you know, giant pack, and a helmet with two cameras in his face with lights to record his performance," Whedon explained. 

"He then did a scene with Scarlett [Johansson]. But she did not look him in the eye because she was looking up in his eye line, nor could he see her because he had two lights shining in his face, and he had his glasses on. Therefore, [Spader] has a certain distance from humanity, too. And god bless him, he was wonderful. And very game. And has been the whole time. He's very interested in the mechanics of the mechanics. And finding the humanity. He and I share a genuine love of this version of Ultron, and he has an innate eccentricity in his delivery that is everything that I had hoped Ultron would be."

Including Spader, the cast of "Avengers: Age of Ultron" includes: Robert Downey, Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Aaron Taylor, Johnson, Scarlett Johansson, Don Cheadle, Elizabeth Olsen, Samuel L. Jackson, Jeremy Renner and Lou Ferrigno, among others.

Marvel's "Avengers: Age of Ultron" hits theaters May 1, 2015.