Aaron Taylor-Johnson Headed For Hollywood Breakout With ‘Avengers 2’

Aaron Taylor-Johnson may not be a household name yet, but that is sure to change soon.

The 23-year-old British actor just officially signed on for The Avengers 2, joining fellow rising star Elizabeth Olsen in the Joss Whedon film. Taylor-Johnson had been open about his negotiations with Marvel and Whedon, though it wasn’t confirmed until this week.

Aaron Taylor-Johnson will play Quicksilver while Olsen will play his sister, Scarlet Witch. It will be a bit tricky to work the two characters into the plot, as they are also X-Men characters owned by Twentieth Century Fox. To fit them into the Marvel story their back stories will have to be reworked so they are not mutants like the other X-Men.

The Avengers: Age of Ultron is set to start filming in February. Hollywood insiders think that Elizabeth Olsen and Aaron Taylor-Johnson may make an appearance in the upcoming movies Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Guardians of the Galaxy as a way of introducing their characters. It’s a tactic Marvel has used in the past, placing the Clint Barton character aka Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) in Thor ahead of his role in The Avengers.

While his blockbuster may still be a year away, Aaron Taylor-Johnson is already among the rising stars of Hollywood. He is best known as the lead in the cult-favorite series Kick Ass, but has recently been taking on bigger roles. He is set to star in next year’s expected blockbuster Godzilla, appearing again alongside Elizabeth Olsen.

He’s also getting attention for his looks. After People magazine declared Maroon 5 singer Adam Levine the “Sexiest Man Alive,” New York Magazine’s The Cut decided to make an alternative list of candidates.

One of those picked was Aaron Taylor-Johnson. The magazine noted:

“He is really hot, even when he’s dirty and has long dredlocks (see: Savages, which is a terrible movie, but I didn’t even care because he’s so hot). Also, he has a sexy British accent and is married to a really successful older woman, which shows he appreciates powerful women.”