VisionQuest puts Ultron in the spotlight with ‘Ultron Unfiltered’
Marvel’s new video focuses on James Spader’s Ultron, whose return makes him an unsettling confidant for Paul Bettany’s Vision.
The short answer: Marvel’s new video focuses on James Spader’s Ultron, whose return makes him an unsettling confidant for Paul Bettany’s Vision.
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Ultron has become someone Vision can talk to. Whether he is someone Vision should trust is another matter. Marvel’s “Ultron Unfiltered,” published October 18, 2026, puts James Spader’s returning character in the spotlight for VisionQuest. In the series, the former Avengers adversary occupies a particularly uncomfortable place: inside Vision’s mind.
That relationship has a specific starting point. Showrunner Terry Matalas told Geektown that he wanted to explore the connection after watching Vision and Ultron’s final conversation in Avengers: Age of Ultron. When he began considering who Vision needed to talk to in the series, Ultron came to mind.
An old enemy, much closer
For viewers catching up, Paul Bettany voiced J.A.R.V.I.S. in Iron Man before appearing physically as Vision in 2015’s Age of Ultron. VisionQuest follows the rebuilt White Vision after WandaVision: he has recovered his memories but struggles to connect them with feelings.
In an October 21 interview with Square Mile, Bettany described Ultron as confined behind a firewall within Vision’s mind. He characterized him as a psychopathic psychologist and father figure who pushes Vision toward the outside world. Their relationship is no longer simply a confrontation between enemies.
Spader also helped shape Ultron’s appearance. Matalas told Geektown that the actor proposed an enormous beard for the long-imprisoned character, rather than the clean-shaven look the showrunner had imagined.
More human does not mean harmless
In an interview published by ComicBook.com on October 19, Spader said Ultron has developed a sense of humanity that he lacked in Age of Ultron. But greater understanding has not resolved his conflict with people:
And his relationship to humanity is still conflicted, and it still vacillates depending on mood, but it’s with real understanding. James Spader, speaking to ComicBook.com
Matalas offered a sharper warning in an interview with The A.V. Club, pointing out that Ultron still considers humanity’s destruction an option. His response to the character’s more approachable incarnation was blunt: “Personally, I would not attempt to ‘cuddle’ with this version of Ultron.”