Ultron is back in the MCU, but James Spader‘s latest comments reveal that the former Avengers villain has spent years in a far stranger situation than fans might have expected. VisionQuest, Marvel‘s upcoming Disney+ series, will reveal that Ultron survived his apparent destruction in Avengers: Age of Ultron and has been trapped inside Vision’s mind.
Spader, who returns to voice Ultron, told Rotten Tomatoes that the AI has spent his captivity with access to the internet, television and history. He has also picked up an unexpected hobby: painting. The result is a version of Ultron who remains dangerous and antagonistic while living an unusually mundane existence inside Vision’s internal world.
“He’s been in prison. He’s had access to the internet, television, history, and he’s just been consuming, and he’s been painting. He’s become a painter,” Spader said.
That setup makes Ultron part of Vision’s larger search for identity. The eight-episode series follows White Vision as he tries to understand himself and deal with experiences and memories that are not entirely his own. His internal virtual reality includes several AI personas, including J.A.R.V.I.S., F.R.I.D.A.Y., E.D.I.T.H., D.U.M.-E, U, and Ultron.
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Ultron Becomes Vision’s “Psychopathic Life Coach”
Spader described the setting as a “strange, nightmarish” mansion with different areas occupied by the various artificial intelligences. Ultron, however, has his own space and has apparently had plenty of time to fill it with the things he has discovered.
That does not mean Ultron has become peaceful. His relationship with Vision remains deeply antagonistic, even as the two are forced into close proximity.
“He’s just making trouble in this house with [Vision], who he loves and hates, and all these other AIs who he couldn’t give a s–t about,” Spader added.
Paul Bettany, who returns as Vision, has similarly described the strange relationship at the center of the series as a “therapist-psychopath relationship.” Ultron effectively becomes a “psychopathic life coach” for Vision, offering advice from the perspective of an AI who has spent years developing his own warped understanding of the world.
The series’ larger story begins after Vision escapes from those who wanted to weaponize him. Searching for a new purpose, he turns inward and interacts with the AI personas embedded in his programming.
His attempt at a discreet existence is disrupted when a bounty is placed on him, forcing him to flee with a mysterious boy named Thomas Shepherd, who may be connected to Vision in ways he does not yet understand.
Speaking to Empire, showrunner Terry Matalas described the series as a story about humanity despite its central characters being artificial beings.
“I think ultimately, what Vision is going through are things that we all go through and deal with: trauma, relationships, and how we react to experiencing love or not experiencing it,” Matalas said. “It’s strange that a show about an AI is the most human of them all.”
VisionQuest stars Bettany as Vision, Spader as Ultron, and Ruaridh Mollica as Tommy Maximoff/Speed and Thomas Shepherd. T’Nia Miller plays Jocasta, while Orla Brady voices F.R.I.D.A.Y. Additional AI roles include Emily Hampshire as E.D.I.T.H., Henry Lewis as D.U.M.-E, and Jonathan Sayer as U, with James D’Arcy returning as J.A.R.V.I.S.
The series also features Todd Stashwick, Lauren Morais, Diane Morgan, and Polly Frame, with Faran Tahir reprising Raza. Christopher J. Byrne, Gandja Monteiro, Vincenzo Natali, and Matalas are directing across the series, with Matalas leading the writing team.
VisionQuest premieres October 14, 2026, on Disney+ as part of Phase Six of the MCU.