Director Joss Whedon recently compared his forthcoming sequel Marvel's The Avengers: Age of Ultron to the Oscar-winning sequel The Godfather: Part II . Please read on before your inner cinephile loses it.

In a chat with the French site Allocine (via JoBlo ), Whedon said the "events of Captain America [The Winter Soldier] will definitely affect the world of Avengers 2. But at the end of the day, I have to make my movie assuming that people will only have seen the first one, or possibly not even seen the first one. I can't assume that everybody went to see Thor [The Dark World], Captain America, and Iron Man 3 in-between. I have to go from one movie to the next and be true to what's happened [in the previous movies], but not be slavish to it."

He continued, "The model I'm always trying to build from, or my guiding star, is The Godfather: Part II where a ton has happened in-between and it's a very different movie [from Part I], but you don't need any information. It's there in the film about what's happened since, what's different, and why is this a different film; why is it a different kind of structure, and why is it darker. It's all there, you're in the vernacular of the first movie and you're just ready to pick up in this new place, and hopefully that's what will happen with my movie. Obviously I'm talking about one of the greatest films ever made (The Godfather: Part II)... I hope mine will be good, but that is my guiding star."

Meanwhile,? the Bard Fortress in northern Italy ?said in an official statement that it will serve as a location for the Avengers 2 shoot this March: "Fort Bard and?Aosta Valley were chosen as a set of many key scenes in the fantasy blockbuster Marvel's The Avengers: Age of Ultron. …?The production in the Valle d'Aosta will involve around 1,500 staff resources on site, of which about 500 extras and generic resources between the casting which will take place at the Fort of Bard. In addition to the Fort of Bard, where will turn the main unit of the film, the shooting will be done in other locations located in the Municipalities of Aosta, Donnas, Bard, Pont-Saint-Martin and Verres chosen by director Joss Whedon and his team."

The Bard Fortress in Italy.

Judging by the Bond villain-worthy look of the Bard Fortress, could this double as villainous Baron Strucker's lair?