Is James Spader returning as Ultron in Marvel‘s upcoming Vision series? According to new production info, it’s indeed possible the actor may be back as the villainous robot in the Disney+ show… And if the series does mark Ultron’s return, it would make a whole lot of sense.
The news comes via Production Weekly, so our usual caveat here… The pamphlet is a resource for those in production to chase down jobs, and the creator of PW is very up-front about not vetting sources. Some of the info is advanced or insider looks at upcoming projects; others are submitted or culled from online. The goal is to allow those behind the scenes to chase down potential jobs. So they’re not being too careful about casting notices, necessarily.
That said, this week’s issue did pop up a listing for the WandaVision spinoff. Alternately titled Vision Quest, White Vision, or as seen here, Vision, the show takes off from the White Vision’s (Paul Bettany) exit in the final episode of WandaVision. There, the mind-wiped android began to realize who he was and took off in search of… Something.
While WandaVision‘s Jac Schaeffer was initially in charge of the project, with her focus on Agatha All Along, duties fell to new showrunner Terry Matalas. Matalas previously worked on 12 Monkeys, Star Trek: Picard, and other shows, and tends to bring an intensely personal and human touch to big sci-fi ideas.
Cut to this listing, which teases Vision goes into production in October of 2024 in the UK — which seems too soon, in my opinion — is produced by Kevin Feige and Mary Livanos, and includes Paul Bettany and James Spader in the cast. On the latter, and the point of this article, while unconfirmed, having Vision’s creator, Ultron from Avengers: Age of Ultron return for the series fits not just the storyline of Vision trying to find himself… But also Matalas’s whole filmography.
And as confirmed by THR, Spader is indeed returning. Respectfully, we reported on this first but whatever, I’m not salty.
There’s the question of how Ultron will return though (if he does return). We last saw the villain in the woods, his final robot form seemingly destroyed by Vision. The key word there is “seemingly” as we never actually saw Ultron destroyed, just a flash of light. I’ll also note that Vision was destroyed too, and he’s back. So there are options.
Regardless, we do know that Vision is happening, and it’s currently on the calendar for a 2026 release date. Maybe this time we’ll finally find out how old Ultron is!
This article has been edited to include the confirmation of James Spader’s casting.
