Over three years after The Blacklist ended, James Spader is set to make his triumphant return to television later this year. James Spader has a long history with television. He’s now best known for playing Raymond Reddington on The Blacklist for 10 seasons, but before that he was in other acclaimed shows like The Office and Boston Legal. He’s won three separate Emmy Awards over the years, and some of Spader’s best roles have been on television rather than in film.
Despite his long and prestigious history with television, Spader has taken a break from the small screen and acting in general. Since The Blacklist ended in 2023, Spader hasn’t had another acting role. In fact, The Blacklist was his only project since 2015, and his only live-action role since 2014. The actor hasn’t publicly addressed his absence, but it’s safe to assume he took time to be with his family.
Now, James Spader is ready to return to television after three years away, and he’s doing it just two months from now. Spader is set to reprise his role as Ultron, the megalomaniacal artificial intelligence created by Tony Stark in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, through the upcoming VisionQuest series. Spader was revealed to be joining VisionQuest last year, but now that the MCU show’s October 14 release date is just two months away, the upcoming role is more exciting than ever.
How James Spader’s Ultron Can Return In VisionQuest
Fans of the MCU or of James Spader will likely remember that Ultron died in rather spectacular fashion back in his first appearance at the end of Avengers: Age of Ultron. Ultron’s death at Vision’s hand should, in theory, preclude him from appearing in VisionQuest, which is a sequel to both WandaVision and Agatha All Along that takes place decidedly later in the MCU timeline. However, there is a way Spader’s return could make sense.
In WandaVision, the precursor to VisionQuest, the character Vision returns, in a way, despite his death in Avengers: Infinity War. While the original Vision remained dead, S.W.O.R.D. reassembled his body, and through a lot of Scarlet Witch’s magic, the newly reassembled White Vision regained the original’s memories, though he is still a distinct new character. It’s complicated, but VisionQuest could do something remarkably similar to bring Ultron back.
White Vision has his old memories following the ending of WandaVision, but he has none of the emotional connection to them. He may decide to try to make sense of the original Vision’s life, which may lead him to trying to rebuild and converse with his creator, Ultron. It’s already been established that AI robots in the MCU can have memories transferred back into them, and some government agency like S.W.O.R.D. almost surely still has one of Ultron’s drones that White Vision can use to recover his memories. It may be a similar situation to White Vision, where it’s Ultron’s body and voice with a new personality, but James Spader’s Ultron does have a way to feasibly return in VisionQuest.
VisionQuest Could Be A Chance For Spader To Rejoin The MCU At Large
Marvel and Disney still haven’t revealed much concrete information about VisionQuest so far, so it’s all very much so up in the air, but this show may be a chance for James Spader to rejoin the MCU in a more permanent way. It all depends on what White Vision decides to do with Ultron and what kind of personality he has after (possibly) being reconstructed, but there’s always a possibility the character could stick around for upcoming MCU movies and shows.
After all, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige has already alluded to the idea that Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars will be something of a soft reboot for the MCU as Doctor Doom begins tearing at the fabric of the multiverse. It’s not outside the realm of possibility that a resurrected Ultron, or an Ultron from an alternate universe, could come back for those monumental movies and have a presence in the MCU going forward. Paul Betthany has already teased Vision may be in Secret Wars; it’s not a stretch to think Ultron could join him.
Even if James Spader doesn’t return as Ultron again after VisionQuest, this show is still something to be very excited about. Once again, it’s Spader’s first acting role in general in over three years, and his first time playing Ultron in over a decade. This casting may also be a sign that Spader is done with his break from acting and ready to dip his toes into new roles again after VisionQuest, which is something everyone should be excited about.
- Network
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Disney+
- Showrunner
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Terry Matalas
- Directors
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Christopher J. Byrne, Gandja Monteiro
- Writers
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Terry Matalas
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James D’Arcy
J.A.R.V.I.S.
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