'Avengers 2' announced - Age of Ultron - Comic-Con 2013

The long-awaited sequel to 2012's top-grosser, The Avengers, was announced at San Diego Comic-Con 2013.

HitFix reports that director/writer Joss Whedon made a surprise appearance towards the end of Marvel Studios' panel to announce the latest news on the sequel to the superhero blockbuster.

After a brief introduction, Whedon unveiled a short CG-animated video that revealed the film's official title: Avengers: Age of Ultron.

Credit: Marvel Studios

"Age of Ultron" is in reference to the title of a recent mini-series written by Brian Michael Bendis in which the Marvel Universe is destroyed by The Avengers' longtime nemesis, an artificial intelligence named Ultron. In the series, Ultron is accidentally created by Avenger Henry "Hank" Pym -- better known as Ant-Man -- who believes the creation to be for the greater good. However, Ultron quickly decides all of humanity must be destroyed, beginning with the creator he refers to as his "father."

While the film gets its title from the comic mini-series, it isn't expected that there will be a direct correlation between the comic book storyline and the story for the film, though it is expected that certain elements from the story will factor into Whedon's screenplay. Naturally, this throws a wrench into the expectations of many fans, who believed Thanos would be the villain of the next Avengers movie, after his appearance during the credits of the 2012 blockbuster. However, this announcement doesn't necessarily rule out an appearance from the iconic Marvel villain.

Watch Captain America himself, actor Chris Evans, learn of the sequel's title for the first time below (via MTV):