VisionQuest Cast and Characters: Who’s Who in Marvel’s New Disney+ Show

Paul Bettany returns as Vision in VisionQuest. Does the name sound familiar? It should! Bettany previously voiced J.A.R.V.I.S., Tony Stark’s AI assistant. Marvel teases that “This time, his character is trying to build a future while contending with some troublesome programming.” For anyone who needs a refresher, Vision is a “synthezoid, or synthetic being, and an Avenger.” He made his debut in Marvel Studios’ Avengers: Age of Ultron. As Marvel explains, “Ultron commissioned the vibranium body, but the Avengers intercepted it. Tony Stark and Bruce Banner integrated J.A.R.V.I.S., and Thor supplied the lightning that brought Vision to life. Powered by the Mind Stone, the new being chose to protect humanity.”

James Spader steps back into the role of Ultron, but “this time inside Vision’s programming.” Marvel has teased his storyline in VisionQuest: “Escaping a pursuer is one problem. Having a bad influence inside your own mind is another.” Ultron was Tony Stark and Bruce Banner’s “peacekeeping project,” which went “catastrophically wrong when their creation decided that saving Earth meant eliminating humanity.” In Avengers: Age of Ultron, he “fought the team while pursuing a stronger body for himself, the same body that ultimately became Vision. Their shared origins make his latest presence especially unsettling. After all, Ultron has a very different idea of what Vision should become.”

Ruaridh Mollica stars as Thomas Shepard. Marvel has already shared a glimpse of his storyline in VisionQuest: “Thomas Shepard travels with Vision and may be the reincarnation of his son. Discovering who Thomas is could change how Vision sees his own future.” In an interview with BURO, Mollica discussed Thomas and Vision’s relationship, saying, “It was very interesting. I think, because of the journey that Paul’s character is going on as well, we’re both on this kind of journey of understanding who we are. To do that side by side made it a really interesting dynamic, because I’m deeply yearning for his attention and his approval to understand who I am, but he won’t give it to me at the start or he won’t listen to me. And it was just really fun to play with the father-son poking at each other and bickering.”

• James D’Arcy as J.A.R.V.I.S., the AI assistant Tony Stark relied on, whose code helped bring Vision to life.

• Orla Brady as F.R.I.D.A.Y., who eventually stepped in as Tony Stark’s main AI assistant.

• Emily Hampshire appears as E.D.I.T.H., alongside Workshop bots DUM-E (Henry Lewis) and U (Jonathan Sayer), who pop up in the mindscape too.