James Spader’s New Ultron Design For 2026 MCU Return Detailed By Star

James Spader opened up about Ultron’s new look for his long-awaited return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Though Ultron was originally thought to have been killed by Vision towards the end of Avengers: Age of Ultron, it’s since been revealed that the former still exists within the latter’s Mindscape. Spader is reprising the robotic antagonist in the new Disney+ show VisionQuest, which also brings back Paul Bettany’s title character for the first time since WandaVision. However, this time around, Ultron will have a human appearance, and Spader discussed what went into crafting the character’s new design.

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In an interview with ScreenRant's Liam Crowley on the Marvel press line at 2026's New York Comic-Con, Spader recalled how the “conversations” about Ultron’s human look started “literally the first time” he met VisionQuest showrunner Terry Matalas in what was supposed to be a simple pitch meeting. Those talks “didn’t really stop” until the upcoming Marvel TV show stopped filming. That included figuring out what Ultron’s “living space might be” and what he’s been doing since Age of Ultron. As Spader explained:

I thought it was really important that the moment you see him, his entrance, that it tells you something already. And so I thought it would be good that he’d have long hair and this big beard, but it also was important to what the character was. It’s coming from an eight or nine-foot robot, an amazing physical specimen. And I was like, this character still, physically, has to have real bearing and impact from the very first moment you meet him. But then I also thought it would be interesting where he was metal, so clean and smooth, that, in fact, in life, in his human avatar, he’s sort of scruffy and the opposite.

Spader went on to describe Ultron from Avengers: Age of Ultron as a “bratty teenager,” but since then has been “forced to slow down and stop for a bit,” though he still causes trouble when he can. Additionally, while Ultron originally wanted to eradicate humanity in the 11th MCU movie, he became “more fascinated with humanity than AI or robots or any of the rest of it.” As such, it was important for Spader and Matalas for Ultron to be interested in “human endeavors,” like painting, and that in turn played into his look.

Ultron is one of the many MCU AI characters who live within Vision’s mindscape, with others including Orla Brady as F.R.I.D.A.Y., James D’Arcy as J.A.R.V.I.S. (Darcy previously played the original Edwin Jarvis in Agent Carter and Avengers: Endgame), and Emily Hampshire as E.D.I.T.H. However, unlike the others, Ultron will remain a thorn in Vision’s side during the critically-lauded VisionQuest as the main protagonist continues struggling with his identity crisis after having his memories restored at the end of WandaVision.

VisionQuest’s other important players include Ruaridh Mollica as Tommy Maximoff, Vision and Wanda Maximoff’s teenaged son, and twin brother of Billy, reborn in the body of the deceased Thomas Shepherd; Todd Stashwick as Paladin, a bounty hunter who’s after Vision; and T’Nia Miller as Jocasta, an android who’s seeking revenge. VisionQuest concludes the trilogy that began with WandaVision in 2021, and continued with Agatha All Along in 2024. The series will comprise eight episodes.

The first two episodes of VisionQuest premiere Wednesday, October 14 on Disney+.

• 

  The Vision

• 

  Henry Lewis

  D.U.M.-E

• James D'Arcy

  J.A.R.V.I.S.

• 

  Orla Brady

  F.R.I.D.A.Y.