'Avengers: Age of Ultron' Casts Linda Cardellini and Julie Delpy; Theories On Who They Could Be Playing

“Avengers: Age of Ultron” just subtly announced two more cast members. In a press release for the April 13 world premiere of the film, "Before Sunrise" actress Julie Delpy and "Freak and Geeks" alum Linda Cardellini were mentioned as cast members who would attend, Entertainment Weekly reports. The press release didn’t say which characters they play in the superhero film, so it’s time to go into speculation mode. Here are our best theories:

Most Likely

“Delpy and Cardellini won’t be playing major superheroes from the comic book universe,” according Entertainment Weekly. “Instead, they will be small but meaningful supporting characters.” This mean they could easily be S.H.I.E.L.D. Agents or Stark Industries Employees. It isn’t surprising for Marvel to cast successful actors in small parts. “Community” actor Danny Pudi appeared as a S.H.I.E.L.D. technician in “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” and everyone from Christiane Amanpour to Seth Green had cameos in “Iron Man 2,” so they might just be casting well-known actors in bit parts.

Possibly

As previously reported, Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) will bring up some old memories for the Avengers. She’s already responsible for the appearances of Captain America’s (Chris Evans) ex Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell) and Thor’s (Chris Hemsworth) friend Heimdall (Idris Elba), so could she be bringing up old memories for the others? Cardellini might make a good Betty Ross if the Hulk’s (Mark Ruffalo) past is brought up. Meanwhile, we’re hoping that “Age of Ultron” will utilize Delpy’s European roots (she's French) and make her the mother of the Maximoff twins, Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver (Aaron Taylor-Johnson).

Longshot

Let's assume that Entertainment Weekly's source is lying about the women not playing superheroes. It's not like anyone from Marvel would let that detail slip out. You know who had a “small but meaningful” part in “Captain America: The Winter Soldier”? Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver. The twins appeared in the end credits scene for just a moment.

If they were superheroes, Delpy could be Captain Marvel (a.ka. Carol Danvers) and Cardellini might be She-Hulk (a.k.a. Jennifer Walters). (Yes, this theory is based on hair color because we have so little information to guess from.) Delpy, 45, is a bit older than many people imagine Carol Danvers, so that’s probably very unlikely. However, Cardellini, 39, would turn into a CGI creature as She-Hulk, so her age might not matter. At 47, Mark Ruffalo plays the second oldest Avenger as the Hulk, so we don’t see any reason why his female counterpart couldn’t be 39.

It’s doubtful, but we’d love to see more female heroes introduced into the "Avengers" franchise. Plus, Kevin Feige previously said, “the roster is altered by the finale of this film.” So “Age of Ultron” should be introducing a few more superheroes, even if they aren't played by Cardellini and Delpy.

“Avengers: Age of Ultron” opens in theaters on May 1. Who do you think the actresses are playing? Leave your guesses in the comments section below!