Nobody is ever truly gone in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and the franchise is on a mission to prove that this year. Marvel Studios is set to bring back Steve Rogers in Avengers: Doomsday while also bringing Robert Downey Jr. back in a brand new role (to allow Iron Man to remain dead while also relying on RDJ's star power to launch Doctor Doom). Heck, this film also brings back the X-Men cast to show us what they would have looked like if allowed to wear their comic-accurate suits in the Fox movie franchise of the early 2000s. The MCU is pushing all the boundaries.
But that won't be the only project bringing back some familiar faces, as the franchise's next installment will do the same - including spotlighting the return of an Avengers villain that fans generally thought they wouldn't see back in the MCU. It goes to show that, yes, literally anything can happen in the MCU.
James Spader returns as Ultron in first VisionQuest trailer
The name Ultron still sends shivers through Marvel fans a decade after the villain's MCU dominance, and it looks as if it will do the same in the inner reaches of Vision's mind, too. Marvel Studios has unveiled the first trailer for the upcoming Disney Plus series VisionQuest and it features the return of none other than James Spader as Ultron.
The villain will appear as a human manfiestation of his own consciousness within Vision's mind, seemingly providing him with guidance, advice and the odd sarcastic remark as the former Avenger looks to reclaim his identity - and perhaps even save his son Tommy Maximoff. Spader voiced the Avengers-level threat in 2015's Avengers: Age of Ultron and this marks his first appearance in the franchise since then. Even more monumental is the fact that he actually gets to do it in-person this time, playing a human-esque version of him.
As showcased in the trailer, Ultron is being kept in the attic of Vision's mind, seemingly shifting into his robotic persona whenever the hero isn't around. But when Vision does catch him looking out at the world, he tells him to take on his "human avatars only". And with that, the intimidating villain shapeshifts into a very scholarly-looking Spader - which is pretty fitting considering that Ultron basically knows everything.
Ultron was the central villain of the second Avengers movie, turning heel out of a misguided attempt by Tony Stark to protect Earth from alien threats. An artificial intelligence that was helped to come into the world by Tony's own AI JARVIS, the villain became self-aware by educating itself on the history of humanity via the internet. It ate JARVIS as it attempted to shut him down, built itself a body and eventually recruited Pietro and Wanda Maximoff (a.k.a. the Scarlet Witch) to help his cause. When he attempted to build himself a synthetic body so that he could be more "human", the Avengers managed to take it and upload what was left of JARVIS' consciousness with the help of an Infinity Stone, forming Vision instead.
That's why it's pretty fitting that Ultron is now back to help Vision restore himself to his former glory. He's actually been somewhat at the center of the WandaVision Trilogy and we didn't even know it. See, VisionQuest is a direct sequel to both WandaVision and Agatha All Along - two stories born out of the love that Wanda and Vision had for each other. Had it not been for Ultron in Age of Ultron, the two likely never would have crossed paths.
After the real Vision's death in Avengers: Infinity War (when Thanos literally ripped the Mind Stone out of his head), Wanda inadvertently used her Chaos Magic to resurrect a fictional version of him, taking over the town of Westview in her grief, turning it into an idyllic sitcom where she and Vision lived happily ever after - that includes with magical-born children Tommy and Billy. What she didn't know was that the real Vision was rebuilt and, after a brush with her own magic, he came back online as the White Vision, attempting to kill her. The Westview Vision made the save and restored his memories but he couldn't bring back his emotions.
White Vision has now spent his time since then existing, no longer wantign to be a weapon but unclear on whether he's a hero. Although Wanda seemingly died in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, their son magical Billy survived the events of Westview, teaming with Agatha Harkness to magically bring Tommy back from the dead too. And now, Vision is set to cross paths with Tommy in VisionQuest.
That's where Ultron comes in. Constantly spending his evenings in his own head, Vision is joined by all of the MCU's AIs, including JARVIS (played by Agent Carter and Avengers: Endgame's Mr. Jarvis James D'Arcy), FRIDAY (played by Orla Brady), EDITH (played by Emily Hampshire), Dum-E (played by Henry Lewis), U (played by Jonathan Slayer) and, of course, Ultron.
The question is: Can Ultron be trusted? While his intelligence certainly becomes a tool for Vision to help him understand himself again, his motivations are always questionable. If the other AIs don't trust him, Vision certainly shouldn't. After all, the trailer also features a moment in which he takes on his robotic self again and seemingly attacks Vision. Can he break free from his mind once again? We'll have to wait and see.
Needless to say, it's wonderful to see Spader back in the role of Ultron 11 years after he first played the role. We can't wait to see him in action as the character for the very first time!
VisionQuest arrives on Disney Plus on October 14, 2026.
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