Paul Bettany Refuses to Confirm If Ultron Will Appear in Human Form in ‘VisionQuest’, But Says It’s “Worth Sticking Around For”
When Marvel commits to a creative gamble, the results tend to divide opinion first and win over skeptics later. ‘VisionQuest‘, the long-awaited Disney+ series starring Paul Bettany, is already generating exactly that kind of buzzy anticipation as it shapes up to be one of the more ambitious additions to the MCU’s increasingly loaded calendar. The show picks up with the White Vision who rocketed away from Westview at the close of ‘WandaVision’, as he tries to regain his emotions and make sense of the memories that were restored to him. Marvel has positioned ‘VisionQuest’ as the third part of a trilogy that includes ‘WandaVision’ and ‘Agatha All Along’.
What distinguishes the series from a conventional MCU continuation is its unusual interior logic. Vision will encounter several familiar AI characters in human form within what appears to be a sprawling white mansion, essentially watching his own MCU history play out around him like a film. Those characters include human versions of JARVIS, FRIDAY, and EDITH, alongside the AI programs that populated Tony Stark’s world throughout the franchise.
The return drawing the most attention, though, is James Spader stepping back into Ultron for the first time since ‘Avengers: Age of Ultron’. When journalist Josh Horowitz pressed Bettany on whether the villain would appear in human form during their recent conversation, the actor sidestepped with a grin, saying that answering would be “beyond my pay grade,” but that it was absolutely “worth sticking around for.” Bettany also described Spader’s performance as “delicious,” adding that the two actors “loved working together” on the material.
Showrunner Terry Matalas has already confirmed that Ultron’s robotic form will appear in the series, while footage screened at the Disney Upfronts reportedly showed a bearded Spader portraying a fully human version of the character. That human Ultron is widely believed to exist within Vision’s own consciousness, which would frame much of the show as a psychological confrontation between creator and creation. The twisted father-son dynamic between the two characters was only lightly sketched in the original film, and ‘VisionQuest’ appears built specifically to excavate it.
Showrunner Matalas himself described the series as a delivery system for Bettany and Spader, saying he was deeply proud of what the two actors accomplished together in the material. Speaking on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, Bettany called the show “moving” and “super exciting,” saying it feels like a genuine end to a trilogy while also standing entirely on its own. He also hinted that his story may not end there, suggesting that ‘Avengers: Secret Wars’ could still be on the table for Vision.
The show is set to premiere on Disney+ on October 14, landing between ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’ and ‘Avengers: Doomsday’ in what is shaping up to be Marvel’s most densely packed release year in some time. The full cast includes Ruaridh Mollica, T’Nia Miller, Todd Stashwick, Emily Hampshire, Orla Brady, and James D’Arcy, among others.
With so many AI characters converging around Vision’s fractured inner world, the question of how much of Spader’s Ultron will be flesh and how much will be metal feels like the one mystery the show is deliberately saving for the screen, so what form do you think Ultron will ultimately take when ‘VisionQuest’ arrives this October?
