Marvel Studios is no stranger to bringing back fan-favorite characters for a multitude of new projects. Look no further than the upcoming VisionQuest, which will feature massive returns from the Marvel Cinematic Universe, including Paul Bettany's Vision and James Spader's Ultron (along with two potentially massive unannounced comebacks). It's the beauty of the shared universe concept, and the MCU does it better than anybody.
However, that same upcoming Disney Plus show features a major Spider-Man character return. The only difference is that, unlike with Bettany and Spader's confirmed comebacks, this beloved character will have a brand new actor playing the role.
VisionQuest recasts Spider-Man: Far From Home's EDITH
Marvel Studios has unveiled the first trailer for VisionQuest at the D23 Entertainment Showcase and it looks like it's going to be an unforgettable adventure. In the newly-released footage we see Bettany's fan-favorite Vision looking to rediscover his identity while former archenemy (and pseudo-father) Ultron seemingly helps him do that. However, we also see the host of other characters who will accompany Ultron in Vision's mindscape, and this officially confirms the long-standing rumors about that Spider-Man recast.
Emily Hampshire is officially taking over the role of EDITH. As long-standing Marvel fans will know, EDITH is the AI-assistant that resided in Peter Parker's glasses in Spider-Man: Far From Home. A gift from Tony Stark to Spider-Man upon his death in Avengers: Endgame (when he sacrificed himself to save the universe from Thanos), EDITH was initially voiced by Dawn Michelle King in the film - which marked her only appearance in the MCU thus far. As King is a veteran voice actress, Hampshire will be stepping into the role for her live-action debut.
VisionQuest will spend a lot of time in Vision's head, as the former Avenger attempts to reconcile his past as a hero with his weaponized resurrection. Now, he doesn't want to be either, as he has all of his original memories without any of the emotions attached to them. To help guide him back to his soul, he will rely on conversations with all of the AI assistants that Tony Stark has created over the years. And that is where EDITH comes in.
Interestingly, EDITH isn't the only recast in VisionQuest. JARVIS - Tony's original AI assistant - returns in his first live-action appearance. As JARVIS was the original incarnation of Vision (and also voiced by Bettany), Bettany can't play that role here; so the series recruits James D'Arcy, who portrayed Howard Stark's butler Edwin Jarvis in Agent Carter and Avengers: Endgame, to bring him to life.
Meanwhile, JARVIS' successor, FRIDAY, was originally voiced by Kerry Condon, but Orla Brady replaces her here, bringing the AI to the screen in person for the first time. Moreover, Henry Lewis and Jonathan Sayer will be the first actors to play the human avatars of DUM-E and U - the robots that Tony Stark created for his workshops in the original Iron Man trilogy.
Taking all of that into account, it's understandable that VisionQuest ultimately opted to recast a few of these characters. While Kerry Condon's recasting with FRIDAY caught a lot of fans off-guard - especially as initial reports suggested that the Avengers star would be reprising her role - there are genuine reasons as to why Marvel opted to bring in different actors for the roles of EDITH, JARVIS, DUM-E, and U.
EDITH was a fan-favorite part of Spider-Man: Far From Home, as the AI very nearly targetted Peter's school bus by launching missiles at it when the webslinger was on holiday with his class in Europe. It made for one of the film's most edge-of-seat - and oddly hilarious - moments. We can't wait to meet the human avatar of the quirky character in VisionQuest.
VisionQuest arrives on Disney Plus on October 14, 2026.
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