James Spader is ready to come back as Ultron after VisionQuest’s finale left the door wide open
James Spader — Ultron in the MCU — has said whether he’d do it again, and what that means once VisionQuest ends.
Well, VisionQuest has just closed the curtain on its first season, and if you thought Ultron was finished with the MCU, think again. James Spader, who voices the snarkiest murderbot in the business, has chimed in on whether he would ever step back into the role. Short version: don’t count him out.
Asked by TV Insider if he’d be up for more Ultron, Spader said, 'Yes, absolutely.' He went on: 'You couldn’t have a broader landscape; it’s almost an indulgent landscape.'
How VisionQuest Left Things
Rather than landing Ultron with the usual comic-book farewell, VisionQuest left the door wide open. The show finished off with a finale called 'Forever', and if you blinked, you might have missed just how many pieces got moved around the MCU chessboard.
The twist: The bloke wearing Ultron’s new human skin is Virgil Horton, grandson of original mad scientist Phineas Horton. Virgil’s the genius who created the old J.I.M. android. He’s not just hosting Ultron—he’s busy working with Vision and a fresh character, Jocasta (his AI take on transferring dead spouses into a robot body—classic Marvel weirdness).
- Virgil locks Ultron inside a storage drive and pens in Vision and Jocasta.
- Tommy shows up to spring everyone, and Jocasta immediately goes for Virgil. He kills her, but not before she manages to move Ultron into a horde of nanobots, basically building him a new body.
- Ultron, after losing yet another tragic figure (Jo Carrington), goes right back to his old world-ending habits, so Vision has to step in.
- Vision ends up trapping Ultron in a TV-style simulation (proper WandaVision throwback, if you missed it), turning his existential crisis up to eleven. Eventually even Ultron’s had enough; he destroys his new nanobot army and seems to just fade away, job done… or is it?
Shock: Vision realises a little scrap of Ultron—both code and nanobots—survived that apocalyptic tantrum. Instead of pushing the off switch, Vision gives him a second shot. Cue a post-credits scene where Ultron, back as Virgil in his fancy mansion, is eyeing up Jocasta’s original code on a USB stick and plotting his next chapter. The MCU is absolutely not finished with Ultron—he’s just having a breather.
Showrunner Terry Matalas called keeping Ultron alive at the end 'a calculated risk', teasing plenty more stories for the character. Spader responded, 'Sounds like a beginning, doesn’t it?'
Every single episode of VisionQuest is out now on Disney+, if you fancy catching up before Ultron tries his luck again.