Ultron has been confirmed to be returning to the MCU in Marvel Television's upcoming Vision series, which could solve a major Marvel mistake from Phase 2. James Spader first voiced the legendary robot tyrant Ultron in 2015's eponymous Avengers: Age of Ultron, which diverted massively from the Marvel Comics storyline of the same name from 2013. Age of Ultron is widely considered to be the weakest Avengers movie in the MCU, but it set up some huge stories for subsequent projects, and debuted one of Marvel's most exciting villains.
Custom Image by Kai Young
On August 23, The Hollywood Reporter confirmed that James Spader would be reprising the role of Ultron in the MCU's upcoming Vision series. This follows news of Star Trek: Picard's Terry Matalas being hired as the Vision series showrunner, and the series being given a 2026 release window, meaning Spader will be returning to the role 11 years after his last MCU appearance. Versions of Ultron have made several brief appearances in the MCU since Age of Ultron, but the Vision series has the opportunity to fix a major live-action mistake with the iconic Marvel villain.
|
Ultron's MCU Project |
Year |
Voiced By |
|---|---|---|
|
Avengers: Age of Ultron |
2015 |
James Spader |
|
What If...? Season 1 |
2021 |
Ross Marquand |
|
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness |
2022 |
Ross Marquand |
|
What If...? Season 2 |
2023 |
Non-Speaking Appearance |
|
Vision |
2026 |
James Spader |
Ultron Should Never Have Been A One & Done Villain In The MCU
Ultron is one of Marvel Comics' biggest and longest-running villains, having made his first appearance back in 1968's The Avengers #54. In his first story, Ultron, originally created by Hank Pym and disguised as the Crimson Cowl, led the Masters of Evil in a failed attack against the Avengers. Since then, Ultron has battled the Avengers many times, and even annihilated humanity in the alternate world of 2013's Age of Ultron, but this impact wasn't translated properly into the live-action adaptation of Ultron in the MCU's Phase 2.
James Spader's Ultron joined the club of major one-and-done villains in the MCU. This group consists of the likes of the Iron Monger, the Red Skull, Malekith, Ronan the Accuser, Dormammu, Killmonger and many more. Any number of these antagonists deserved more development and attention in the MCU, but Ultron has been considered to be one of the most wasted villains in the franchise's history. Thankfully, news of James Spader's return as Ultron in the MCU's Vision series can finally solve this problem.
MCU’s Vision Series Can Finally Do Ultron Justice
By the time Marvel Television's Vision series premieres on Disney+, it will have been 11 years since James Spader first voiced Ultron in Avengers: Age of Ultron. Despite this lengthy hiatus, the Vision series will drag Ultron out of the one-and-done villain club, solving this major injustice. It's still unclear exactly what role Ultron will have in the series, while some theories suggest there may be a piece of Ultron still living inside Vision's mind, or that SWORD or a similar organization may have acquired one of Ultron's drones after the Battle of Sokovia.
This could potentially set up another major threat for Avengers: Doomsday and Secret Wars.
The resurgence of Ultron in the MCU's Phase 6 is very exciting. This could potentially set up another major threat for Avengers: Doomsday and Secret Wars alongside Robert Downey Jr.'s Doctor Doom. This could also lay the foundations for some of Ultron's biggest storylines to be adapted properly in the MCU, possibly even leading to a live-action depiction of the dramatic Age of Ultron event, which was explored in the animated What If...? series. It's fantastic news that Ultron will finally get redemption in the MCU's Vision series.
