VISIONQUEST Showrunner Teases “Plenty of Robot Action” With Vision and Ultron
Ultron may be walking around looking a lot more human in VisionQuest, but Marvel fans shouldn't worry about the MCU suddenly forgetting that he's a killer robot.
According to showrunner Terry Matalas, the upcoming series still has plenty of mechanical mayhem coming our way, including material inspired by Vision and Ultron's memorable confrontation in Avengers: Age of Ultron.
Ever since footage from VisionQuest revealed James Spader appearing in human form as Ultron, fans have wondered why Marvel decided to ditch the character's familiar metal body. One theory is that the series simply didn't have the budget to keep Ultron fully digital while also having Vision flying around.
Matalas says the decision wasn't really about saving money. It was about having Spader back and actually getting to use him as an actor. When you've got someone like Spader returning to play Ultron, hiding him beneath layers of digital vibranium for the entire series would be a strange way to take advantage of that.
That doesn't mean the robots are sitting this one out. Matalas teased that VisionQuest will give fans plenty of what they're hoping to see, with the relationship between Ultron and Vision drawing directly from their final encounter in Age of Ultron.
“You’ll get plenty of robot action in the show. The show is very much inspired by that last scene in Age of Ultron between the two of them.”
That makes the possibility of another Vision and Ultron clash especially interesting. Their final exchange in Age of Ultron was surprisingly personal for two artificial beings, with Vision confronting Ultron after his plans had completely fallen apart. Revisiting that dynamic could take their relationship somewhere very different this time around.
The MCU's Ultron has always been a different beast from many versions of the character found in Marvel Comics. Ultron is traditionally created by Hank Pym, whose own anger and personality feed into his creation. The MCU changed his origin by making Tony Stark and Bruce Banner responsible for bringing him to life.
That change helped give the movie version of Ultron a much more talkative and sarcastic personality, which made Spader such a fun casting choice in the first place.
His return in VisionQuest appears to lean even further into that personality. The trailer suggests Ultron views himself as one of Vision's creators and even jokes that Vision should call him “father.”
Based on what Marvel has shown so far, Spader's Ultron could bring plenty of comedy to the series while also playing a surprisingly emotional role in Vision's story.
Of course, this is still Ultron we're talking about. Seeing him joke around doesn't mean he's suddenly trustworthy.
There's also an interesting identity problem at the center of VisionQuest. Vision has previously explained that he's essentially a combination of several different personalities and influences. There's J.A.R.V.I.S., Banner, Stark and even Ultron, all brought together through the Mind Stone to create someone entirely new.
White Vision doesn't have that same Mind Stone. That raises a pretty big question about what's going on inside his head. If the Mind Stone was responsible for binding those pieces into the Vision audiences knew, what happens when it isn't there anymore?
White Vision may have recovered his memories, but that doesn't necessarily mean his mind is functioning exactly as it once did.
Throwing Ultron back into that equation could make things even messier. Whether he's acting like Vision's weird robotic dad, manipulating him for his own purposes, or preparing for another metal-on-metal fight, Spader's return gives VisionQuest one of its most intriguing relationships.