Ultron died at the end of Avengers 2 — VisionQuest’s showrunner has just explained why that was never true
Terry Matalas told Empire that Vision saved a copy of Ultron's AI, and Spader plays him older, and funnier.
If you thought Ultron was definitely toast after his showdown with Vision in Avengers: Age of Ultron, you might want to brace yourself. Turns out, Marvel is not quite done with the genocidal AI — and that has big implications for the upcoming Disney+ show VisionQuest. The showrunner's just dropped some typically Marvel-esque retcon magic that'll make you see that climactic 'death' scene in a whole new light.
VisionQuest debuts on Disney+ on 14 October 2026.
So, how is Ultron still kicking?
Let’s rewind. The last time we saw Ultron properly, Vision was putting the philosophical boot in, telling the final Ultron drone 'You're the last one,' before zapping him with the Mind Stone. The impression? Ultron: terminated. Now, it turns out that's not quite how things played out.
The showrunner, Terry Matalas, has confirmed that Vision didn't completely wipe Ultron out at all. Instead, he found a workaround. Speaking with Empire Magazine, Matalas explained that Vision backed up Ultron’s AI right at the end of Avengers 2 — suggesting that, far from ending Ultron, Vision was actually trying to be merciful in an extremely Vision sort of way.
According to Matalas, Ultron’s consciousness has been stashed away in Vision's internal hardware and, in Marvel fashion, he's been lurking in there ever since. The old trope: why kill your enemy when you can offer them free rent inside your head for half a decade?
What’s the show actually about?
VisionQuest picks up with Vision still struggling with his identity after being resurrected in WandaVision. He’s in hiding, and apparently not just from the authorities but from anyone who wants a bit of the world’s most famous android. This time, Vision’s wrestling not just with one but several AI personas all vying for space in his programming — and yes, Ultron is very much along for the ride.
- Eight-episode Disney+ miniseries
- Vision tries to find himself — literally and spiritually — by interrogating various embedded AIs
- A bounty on his head forces Vision onto the run
- He’s joined by a mysterious teen, suggested to possibly be his reincarnated son (keep your wild theories ready)
Ultron, played again by James Spader, will turn up in Vision’s mind, materialising in human form. Spader’s version of Ultron is meant to be older this time, more philosophical, and his sense of humour even sharper than it was back during his global domination phase.
As Spader told Empire:
He was a bit of a teenager in Age of Ultron, and I think he’s a lot older and wiser now. That makes his sense of humour even a little bit more acute. He has an insatiable thirst for knowledge and study of behaviour, so that’s only going to make him more irreverent about it all.