“VisionQuest,” the final piece of the trilogy that began with “WandaVision” and “Agatha All Along,” is finally airing on Disney+, and fans cannot get enough. Along with Vision, played by Paul Bettany, coming back into the spotlight, “VisionQuest” also features the return of one fan-favorite villain, Ultron, played by none other than James Spader. But what might surprise Marvel fans tuning in is that he looks a little different than he did in “Avengers: Age of Ultron.”
This time around, Ultron spends most of his time as his human avatar. It’s been a joy to see Spader on screen, rather than the robotic body fans are familiar with, but some have questioned why this creative choice was made. While many assumed it was a budget issue, showrunner Terry Matalas explained that the reason is actually much simpler than that. Speaking with Polygon about the show, Matalas declared, “It’s funny, people say it’s a budget thing, it’s not, it’s a James Spader thing.”
“I love James Spader. Who doesn’t love James Spader? I just want to see James and I want to see Bettany … Watching Spader and Bettany chew up the scenery was something I saw in my head from the very beginning.” Matalas admitted that creating the CGI robotic version of Ultron is “prohibitively expensive,” but he also argued that there’s no way a robot can “emote and do the things that James Spader can do with just the twitch of an eyebrow.” Fans who want to see robotic action shouldn’t worry: Matalas said there will still be plenty of that in the show.
James Spader helped shape the human version of Ultron for VisionQuest
While Terry Matalas made the decision for Ultron to appear more often in his human form, it was James Spader who truly shaped what that form looked like. In an interview with The Direct, Spader revealed exactly why Ultron looks a little worn down when he appears in the mindspace of Vision (Paul Bettany). Considering he’s been there for over a decade since the end of “Avengers: Age of Ultron,” creators had to show the passage of time somehow.
“He’s been a prisoner here for 12 years or however long it is, and you can establish that with long hair and a big beard,” said Spader. He also noted that he wanted his human version to look “surprising” and quite different from the sleek robot version of Ultron, leading to the unexpectedly “scruffy” style. Spader argued, “This is who [Ultron] aspires to be … It seemed like with time and maturity that this is who he would be.”
Matalas confirmed that the look was all Spader’s idea, noting that he initially pictured human Ultron more like Spader’s current everyday look, with close-shaved hair and no beard. Even when Spader suggested he have a beard, Matalas never pictured the unruly style he showed up with.
