Eric Bolte-USA TODAY Sports

Georges St-Pierre has his next assignment, and his opponent is none other than Captain America.

The UFC's defending welterweight champion has signed on to appear in the next installment of the Marvel film franchise surrounding the stars-and-stripes superhero, titled Captain America: The Winter Soldier.

The news of St-Pierre's casting was first reported by Latino Review and later confirmed by Sportsnet MMA analyst Joe Ferraro.

This won't be St-Pierre's first time in front of the camera, as he has been a part of a couple of straight-to-video films in the past, but his role in Captain America: The Winter Soldier will undoubtedly be his biggest starring gig to date.

In the film set for release in April 2014, St-Pierre will play villain Batroc the Leaper, an infamous mercenary in the Captain America universe.

The character, created by legendary Marvel Comics company head Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, first appeared all the way back in 1966.

Almost like the role was created for St-Pierre, Batroc the Leaper is a French martial artist who specializes in savate kickboxing. Although the character has no superpowers, Batroc has taken on Captain America several times. And at one point in history, he changed sides to become a hero, but it was a short-lived transition.

The film Captain America: The Winter Soldier is based on the 2005 comic book of the same name written by Ed Brubaker in which the All-American hero is confronted by his former comrade, Bucky Barnes, who has been brainwashed and turned into a Soviet assassin code-named "The Winter Soldier."

Captain America: The Winter Soldier will be released in 2014, but filming is expected to begin in late April or early May, with filming sites primarily located in Cleveland and Los Angeles.

St-Pierre joins an all-star cast, including Chris Evans as Steve Rogers/Captain America, Scarlett Johansson as Natasha Romanoff/The Black Widow and Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury.

The first film in the franchise, Captain America: The First Avenger, grossed more than $368 million worldwide.

As far as St-Pierre's time away from fighting to film the movie, it's expected that his character will be a secondary villain in the film, but he could be tied up for several weeks with commitments. St-Pierre could also be called back for reshoots, which happen quite often with a film the size of Captain America: The Winter Soldier.

St-Pierre was already planning an extended vacation following his last fight against Nick Diaz at UFC 158, so with this film now in production, it's not likely he will return until fall 2013 for another fight in the Octagon.