It’s hard to believe that we are even getting Avengers: Age of Ultron. Seven years ago, after watching Iron Man, some of us would have laughed at the thought of getting all these heroes to work together on a film. But it has happened, not once, but now twice, and there will be four films within a few years.

Geeks Of Doom was recently invited to the press conference for Avengers: Age of Ultron, where stars Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Elizabeth Olsen, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Paul Bettany, and James Spader were in attendance to talk about being a part of such a massive ensemble, how the changing universe has effected their characters, and some of the stunt work that comes with a film of this size. Director Joss Whedon and producer Kevin Feige also talked about shaping the Marvel Cinematic Universe to what it is today, how some of the films in MCU’s Phase 2 changed the Age of Ultron script, and some of the challenges of shooting the sequel.

Here’s 11 things you should know about Avengers: Age of Ultron, which opens in theaters on May 1, 2015.

11 – The MCU is bigger than than a bunch of movies leading up to the ensemble event; it has TV shows from Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Agent Carter, to Netflix’s Daredevil. And the person to connect all of that is Cobie Smulders, who plays Maria Hill in the MCU. When asked about how her character has changed and being the thread that connects the ABC show Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. and the films together, Cobie Smulders said:

10 – Age of Ultron marks the first time that Paul Bettany has made a physical appearance in the MCU. The actor, who is best known for voicing J.A.R.V.I.S, Tony Stark’s AI butler and suit assistant, will now fight as The Vision along with his fellow Avengers to save the world from the threat of Ultron. The actor talked about what it feels like to be on a set and not just in a voice booth. “Well, the main difference is that I have to show up,” Bettany said. “The great thing is I get to work with these incredible and talent people; however I now have to show up at junkets. It’s a double-edged sword.”

9 – Director Joss Whedon talked about the dichotomy that Ultron and The Vision represent since they can both be considered a creation of Tony Stark. “They do embody a little bit of him, but they are also their own people. You see them as two sides of the same coin,” Whedon said. He added, “I like the accord between the two. There is something beautiful about that they see the same thing, but react to it differently emotionally.”

8 – Whedon had previously expressed the exhausting creative process it took to make this film happen. Much like the first Avengers, the director had to find that balance for all the characters. Here’s what Whedon said at the conference:

7 – No one could have imagined that we would be getting three (or four) Avengers films, and producer Kevin Feige talked humbly about what it has been like to go from Iron Man all the way to Age of Ultron:

6 – As we all know, every sequel has to be bigger and badder than the last film, and Age of Ultron is no exception. Of course trying to add substance with style does present a few challenges. “With the smallest thing I could think of,” Whedon said, “What drew me back to the movie was what little moments are there between these characters that I haven’t gotten to do yet; what conversations did they not have yet; what haven’t I shown? It’s never sort of the big picture stuff. It’s always, where do they live; how can I get inside their hearts; what’s funny about them?”

5 – Having already worked together on Godzilla, Elizabeth Olsen and Aaron Taylor-Johnson already have a built-in chemistry. While playing the vital role of the twins (Olsen as Scarlet Witch; Taylor-Johnson as Quicksilver) may have been intimidating at first, the two talked about how having already worked together made things easier. “I think it’s only a benefit. Aaron and I didn’t really work together that much on Godzilla,” Olsen said, “It’s intimidating joining this group, so I got to do it with Aaron.” Taylor-Johnson added, “It is comforting to know, stepping on set, when it is a big ensemble you kind of know someone who you’re comfortable with.”

4 – James Spader, who plays the title villain in the film, was a bit surprised about the fast-paced production of a Marvel film. “I didn’t really know what was happening, it was all happening very quickly. I was trying to hold on and stay on the train that was moving very quickly,” Spader said.

3 – Many Hawkeye fans felt that the Marvel archer was underrepresented in the first Avengers film, but things change for the character this time around, as his role has increased dramatically. When asked about the evolution of his character Jeremy Renner said, “Well, I speak in this movie, which is awesome. I feel like I’m part of the team, which is awesome. When I sat down with Kevin and Joss back in the day, about why I liked to play Hawkeye, was because I could never do what these gentlemen do, I don’t have that creative of a mind.” He added, “I understood Hawkeye in a humanist sense. I kinda felt like I got to explore a little more of that. I thought it was really endearing and thoughtful.”

2 – Marvel plans the MCU films far in advance, laying out the groundwork for each Avengers films in preceding solo ones. As exciting as that is, it does present some limitations, as Feige and Whedon would say.

1 – Physical preparation is hard. But doing it while you are pregnant presents even more of a challenge as Scarlett Johansson talked about. “I don’t think you are suppose to ride a motorcycle while you are so pregnant. But I did, I did all of the motorcycle work,” Johansson said. “I embarrassingly rode a mechanical bull type of motorcycle which goes nowhere and doesn’t look cool, at all.” She added, “But, I had some very professional and amazing motor-cross morphing done that makes Black Widow look like a total bad-ass.” The actress also credits the team for helping her bring the character to life. “I will say that I’m very fortunate that there’s a team around me that is super supportive in helping all of Widow’s fight moves and bad-ass motorcycle riding happen,” she said. “I could not do it without that. Starting a move and finishing a move, and having all of that work be seamless, takes a lot of choreography and team spirit.” She adds, “Every film is exciting because I get new tools and fun new stuff to do, and luckily Joss writes me some bad-ass moves that make me look like that. It’s awesome. I just said epic, awesome, and bad-ass all in one sentence. I’m done now.”