With the topic of artificial intelligence—both its benefits and drawbacks—dominating the cultural conversation right now, it only makes sense that a character like Ultron (James Spader) would return in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
If anything, the malevolent AI created by Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) and Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo) feels more relevant than he did back in 2015’s Avengers: Age of Ultron.
His reunion with Paul Bettany’s Vision will take place in the upcoming WandaVision sequel series, VisionQuest, which hails from showrunner Terry Matalas (developer of the 12 Monkeys TV show and a showrunner on Star Trek: Picard).
The story follows the White Vision created by S.W.O.R.D., who goes into hiding and grapples with his purpose in life. To that end, he consults a number of fellow AI personas like F.R.I.D.A.Y. (Orla Brady), E.D.I.T.H. (Emily Hampshire), J.A.R.V.I.S. (James D’Arcy) and, of course, Ultron. Not too surprisingly, the erstwhile big bad responsible for the destruction of Sokovia becomes something of a devil on Vision’s shoulder.
VisionQuest Showrunner Explains Marvel Return of James Spader’s Ultron
“My first thought was, ‘Well, we don’t have Wanda, and we need someone really strong for Vision to play off of,” Matalas told Empire for the magazine’s October 2026 issue. “Within a millisecond, I was like, ‘It’s [James] Spader.’ Then everything else started to fall into place.”
He also explained that Vision actually backed up a copy of Ultron, locking him in a digital prison, before deactivating him for good at the end of the second Avengers film. A classic comic book-style retcon.
“He always felt that he didn’t really want to kill Ultron,” continued Matalas. “Ultron was such a threat to humanity and he was so lost, but at the last moment, we’ll find out that Vision showed mercy.”
Spader, meanwhile, teased his character as being “in a very different place” compared to his mindset in Age of Ultron.
“He was a bit of a teenager in [that movie], and I think he’s a lot older and wiser now,” noted the actor. “That makes his sense of humor even a little bit more acute. He has an insatiable thirst for knowledge and study of behavior, so that’s only going to make more more irreverent about it all.”
Ruaridh Mollica (The Franchise), Todd Stashwick (Star Trek: Picard), T’Nia Miller (The Haunting of Bly Manor), Lauren Morais (Mudtown), Diane Morgan (Mandy), Polly Frame (EastEnders), Henry Lewis (The Goes Wrong Show) and Jonathan Sayer (Les Faux British) co-star.
When Does VisionQuest Come Out?
VisionQuest premieres on Disney+ Wednesday, Oct. 14.
In addition to writing and directing, Matalas is also an executive producer alongside Kevin Feige, Louis D’Esposito, Brad Winderbaum, Mary Livanos, Jac Schaeffer, and Christopher J. Byrne. Roopesh Parekh serves as producer.
Matalas’s fellow directors are Christopher J. Byrne, Gandja Monteiro and Vincenzo Natali. The writers’ room comprises Cindy Appel, Christopher Monfette, Nicole Falsetti and Matthew Okumura.
