AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON Begins Filming In South Africa Today

The bulk of principal photography may not be scheduled to start until May, but the first shooting for The Avengers: Age Of Ultron is reportedly starting today and running through the week in Johannesburg, South Africa.

The news comes to us from SA Breaking News, who state the the filming is for a ten-minute sequence that will open the film. Previously, we have heard that the film would open with a battle between the Avengers and the villainous organization known as HYDRA led by long-time comics baddie Baron Von Strucker (to be played by Thomas Kretschmann).

It should be noted though, that “the movie’s stars including Robert Downy Jr, Chris Hemsworth, Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, and Scarlett Johansson, will not be in town for the shooting.” Note that this does not preclude other cast members such as Jeremy Renner (Hawkeye). Might this be a way to introduce some new superpowered members of SHIELD such as Quicksilver (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) and Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen)?

Filming will be in the city’s Central Business District, so presumably it will be pretty public. I would expect that we will get some pictures fairly quickly that will give us some more clues as to what exactly the sequence will be.