James Spader Reveals What Ultron Has Really Been Doing Since AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON
Ultron has apparently spent the years since Avengers: Age of Ultron locked inside Vision’s mind, surfing the internet, watching TV, studying history, painting, causing problems, and growing one hell of a beard.
That’s certainly not where I expected Marvel to take the murderous artificial intelligence, but I’m completely on board with how weird this sounds.
James Spader, who returns to voice Ultron in Marvel Studios’ upcoming Disney+ series VisionQuest, recently sat down with Rotten Tomatoes and revealed what his character has actually been doing since we last saw Vision seemingly destroy him.
As it turns out, Vision didn’t completely wipe Ultron from existence at the end of Age of Ultron. Instead, his consciousness was trapped inside Vision, where he has essentially been serving a very long prison sentence.
It isn’t exactly solitary confinement without entertainment, though. Ultron has been able to access the internet, television, historical material, and plenty of other information during his captivity.
When the interviewer questioned whether Spader was seriously describing Ultron’s life after Age of Ultron, the actor confirmed: “Those are all truths.”
Ultron also found some interesting ways to pass the time. Spader revealed that the AI has been “painting” and “making trouble.”
The idea of Ultron sitting around inside Vision’s head consuming decades of human culture and painting for years is wonderfully strange, especially considering how much contempt he previously had for humanity. Of course, none of this means he has suddenly become a friendly roommate.
Spader explained that Ultron is essentially a permanent resident inside Vision, saying, “He’s in the house,” and describing the villain as someone who “loves/hates” Vision. Ultron apparently doesn’t care nearly as much about the other artificial intelligences sharing that space.
Those include J.A.R.V.I.S., F.R.I.D.A.Y., E.D.I.T.H., DUM-E, and U., giving VisionQuest one seriously interesting collection of digital personalities for Vision to contend with.
Paul Bettany also pointed out Ultron’s pretty hilarious physical transformation during his extended imprisonment. The VisionQuest version of the villain has grown an enormous beard, which Bettany compared to “Isambard Kingdom Brunel’s beard.” He also joked that someone could practically “hide a badger” inside it.
When I watched the trailer for the series, Bearded Ultron was definitely not on my MCU bingo card.
More importantly, the explanation finally answers the question of how Ultron can return after his apparent death in Age of Ultron. Vision didn’t destroy him. He imprisoned his consciousness, leaving the dangerous AI alive inside his own mind all these years.
That makes Ultron a natural part of the story VisionQuest is telling. Following the events of WandaVision, Vision is searching for his identity and trying to understand who he is.
Discovering that one of his creators and greatest enemies has been living inside him the entire time should complicate that journey in some very entertaining ways.
Ultron has also had years to watch, learn, create, and stew over his situation. Whatever version of the character eventually emerges from that imprisonment probably isn’t going to be exactly the same Ultron we met in 2015.
Marvel’s VisionQuest will consist of eight episodes and premieres on Disney+ on October 14, 2026. After more than a decade away from the MCU, I’m excited to see Spader back as Ultron, especially now that we know the homicidal robot apparently spent part of his prison sentence becoming an artist with a ridiculous beard.