Emmy-winning actor James Spader is set to return as supervillain Ultron in Marvel Studios’ upcoming “Vision” series, according to an insider with knowledge of the project.
Spader last appeared as Ultron in 2015’s “Avengers: Age of Ultron.” The upcoming project, which will see the return of actor Paul Bettany, will be steered by “Star Trek: Picard” executive producer Terry Matalas as showrunner.
After dying at the hands of Thanos in 2018’s “Avengers: Infinity War,” Vision was recreated by the magic ofa grieving Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen), aka the Scarlet Witch. Additionally, a separate white version of Vision was rebuilt by S.W.O.R.D. after his body was recovered from Wakanda. After the two Visions battled in the “WandaVision” finale, White Vision’s memories were restored and he immediately flew off. Meanwhile, the Vision manifested by Wanda faded from existence after she chose to drop her Hex over Westview.
An earlier version of the series had been in development with “WandaVision” creator Jac Schaffer, but she turned her attention to another spin-off of the show, “Agatha All Along” with Kathryn Hahn, which will premiere in September.
Previously in the 2015 movie, “Avengers: Age of Ultron,” Tony Stark (Iron Man) along with Bruce Banner (The Hulk) created Ultron from A.I. code discovered inside Loki’s scepter, as a global defense program. However, Ultron believed he must eradicate humanity to save Earth and made his own sentient being, which became Vision, to help Ultron achieve his goal. But Vision’s conscience drove him to choose siding with the Avengers to defeat Ultron.
The untitled “Vision” series is eyeing a 2025 shoot in England. Spader is repped by CAA.