Foreshadowing / Avengers: Age of Ultron

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• Early on, an Iron Legion drone has its faceplate damaged by a protester with a cocktail. The damage causes it to have wider eye-holes and gaps near its "mouth", not unlike the face of Ultron. That same drone is later seen returning to Avengers Tower and having its faceplate replaced, and Ultron takes the damaged one to be part of his first body.
• Tony Stark talks about Ultron leading to "Peace in our time". British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain became rather infamous for saying that after cutting a deal with Hitler to avoid war in 1938 which ultimately proved to be ineffectual as Hitler went on to invade Poland. Fittingly, Tony's attempt at peace in our time goes horribly wrong.
• Ultron is frequently making references to extinction events, dinosaurs and meteors. His plan is ultimately a recreation of the K–T extinction that wiped the dinos, turning Sokovia into a Floating Continent so it can crash on Earth.
• Ultron also muses on how people produce "smaller people" that eventually replace and "help end them". His creation, Vision (who is smaller than him), is instrumental in killing him.
• Near the start of the film, Sam expresses disappointment that he can't tag along on Cap's adventures with the Avengers. At the end of the film, he is officially made an Avenger.
• Likewise, near the start of the movie, Rhodey is embarrassed to find that his solo exploits as War Machine and Iron Patriot are nothing compared to the epic battles that the Avengers regularly fight. He ends up assisting the team in the final battle with Ultron, and becomes an Avenger himself at the end of the film.
• Hawkeye fires a bullet near Pietro to subdue him. During the final battle, a stray bullet grazes Pietro's shoulder. He gets several far worse gunshot wounds later on.
• Tony saying that he doesn't trust someone without a darker side and Steve's reply that maybe Tony just hasn't seen it yet. It looks like he'll get to in Captain America: Civil War.
• Likewise, just before Vision is created, we're treated to a standoff between two teams of Avengers: Cap, Wanda and Pietro on one side, the other Tony, Hawkeye, and Banner. Thor manages to take the choice out of their hands before things escalate further, but the scene provides a glimpse at just how easily the team could become divided over a serious issue.
• Thor's disturbing vision hints at the fall of Asgard, planting possible plot seeds for Thor: Ragnarok.
  • During his first vision, there's a brief shot of Vision's eyes opening. The second has the four Infinity Stones shown so far grouping together around a cloud in the shape and colour of the Infinity Gauntlet.
  • When Heimdall appears in his vision, he calls Thor the "first son of Odin", not the firstborn of Odin. That honor belongs to Hela.
• Also regarding Thor's vision, the line he said about Vision greatly foreshadows the plot and final battle of Avengers: Infinity War:
  Thor: I've had a vision. A whirlpool that sucks in all hope of life, and at its center, is that [points at the Mind Stone in Vision's forehead]
• The famous party scene where the Avengers take it in turns to try and lift Mjolnir. Not only does this foreshadow Vision lifting it effortlessly towards the end of the film, but it also foreshadows Steve being worthy, which is confirmed at the climax of Avengers: Endgame he wields Mjolnir, much to Thor's delight.
• When Ultron attacks the Avengers after the party, he conspicuously calls off the drone which would have killed Helen Cho. Later, Ultron approaches her about making his new body. He even mentions this, saying, "I could have killed you at the party, but didn't."
• When Steve is giving his Rousing Speech, the camera focuses on the twins, specifically on Wanda when he says, "The rest of us have one job: tear these things apart. If you get hurt, hurt them back", then on Pietro as he says "if you get killed", to return on Cap for the "walk it off". Pietro dies in the battle, and Wanda hurts Ultron in reply by ripping his power core out. Pietro doesn't walk it off.
• When purchasing a Vibranium stockpile from Klaue, Ultron remarks "Upon this rock, I will build my church." Ultron uses the Vibranium to build a large anti-gravity drill, centered underneath a Sokovian church.
• A subtle one Joss Whedon mentions at the commentary track: the way Cap's shield is broken in Tony's vision resembles how Ultron's chest looks once Wanda rips his 'heart' out.
• In a deleted scene, Pietro is seen distributing items he stole using his superspeed to people on the streets. Wanda isn't thrilled with his petty criminal behavior, warning him, "You keep stealing, you're going to get shot." When Pietro scoffs at this, she persists, "I mean it! At speed, nothing can touch you, but standing still...".
• The idea of there being a greater threat than Ultron looming on the horizon is brought up several times throughout the movie, such as Tony's vision, and even Ultron himself saying that God is "winding up" to throw another catastrophe at the Earth.
• Tony and Steve being surprised to learn that there exists a greater supply of Vibranium in Wakanda than just what was used to make Captain America's shield foreshadows the events of Black Panther (2018), which clarifies that Wakanda has had its own personal Masquerade in place for centuries. T'Chaka specifically used Klaue's theft as an excuse to claim they didn't have any vibranium left.
  • Klaue's dossier mentions a previous attempt by him to assassinate T'Chaka, and his grudge against Wakanda because a previous Black Panther killed members of his family, something that will also come into play in Black Panther.
• Steve's vision alludes to his final fate in Endgame; going back to Peggy and having the dance he promised after the war was won.
• During the scene on Klaue's ship, the Maximoff twins step into his office and pull their go-to “be afraid of me” act to strongarm, but Klaue straight up brushes it off, and laughs at their threats, talks down to them, offers them candy, and dares them to do their worst. The fact they're at a loss about what to do establishes that they aren't really bad guys so much as just misguided people in over their heads.

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