‘VisionQuest’ showrunner teases ‘a generational story’ in upcoming Marvel series
'VisionQuest' will mark the end of Marvel's epic TV trilogy that began with 2021's 'WandaVision.' Recently, showrunner Terry Matalas ('12 Monkeys') revealed previously unknown tidbits about the upcoming series. In an interview with TV Insider, Matalas said the relationship between Ultron (James Spader), Vision (Paul Bettany), and Tommy/Speed (Ruaridh Mollica) will play a pivotal role. For those unaware, Ultron is Vision's father and served as the main antagonist of 'Avengers: Age of Ultron.' The supervillain designed Vision with evil intentions, but, in an ironic turn of events, died at the hands of his creation. Tommy is Scarlet Witch and Vision's son.
The miniseries reveals that Vision did not fully destroy Ultron in the 2015 movie. The son kept his father backed up in his processors. For years, this arrangement had been smooth sailing. "But that doesn't mean Ultron's not longing to be back out in the world," Matalas shared. Some events give Ultron enough power to make Vision remember his son Tommy. This sets off what Matalas called "a generational story" between Ultron, Vision, and Tommy. "There's sort of a three-way father-son dynamic with Ultron and Vision, and then Vision with Tommy. It's fun, between the three [of them]," the showrunner explained.
Bettany called the story a representation of "intergenerational digital trauma" in his interview with Entertainment Weekly. The actor describes Ultron as "this psychopath that he's keeping locked away upstairs in the attic." The actor teased an unusual dynamic between Ultron, Vision, and Tommy. "Once we had James on board, we had a grandfather, a father, and a son," Bettany added. The series will follow White Vision, who was built with parts of Wanda's love interest, but lacks the Mind Stone, which is responsible for emotional intelligence and other skills. In the show, he is trying to fit into human society and contend with the memories left inside him after Wanda's death. There is an "identity crisis" at play, according to Matalas.
This alternate version of Vision shares an interesting dynamic with Wanda. "He is in the process of working through quite a few things, and tapping back into those feelings of who he was, which is all stored inside him, but might be painful to access," Matalas explained. "Vision will definitely have a perspective on Wanda very early on. And [he] has a point of view on [her death]," he added. The showrunner also noted similarities in these two characters. "Both characters don't quite know what to do with the emotions that are inside them and are trying to figure it out in these ways," he explained.
The ensemble cast will also include an older brother figure/former Stark AI J.A.R.V.I.S. (a returning James D'Arcy), youthful E.D.I.T.H. ('Schitt's Creek's' Emily Hampshire), traumatized F.R.I.D.A.Y. (Orla Brady), and un-evolved bot arms, Dum-E (Henry Lewis) and U (Jonathan Sayer). These AI bots will help Vision with different facets of humanity. Matalas claims the series will focus on Vision's identity as a robot and lean more into the science fiction aspects. "This is all about the Marvel AIs. It's their moment," the showrunner shared. 'VisionQuest' will premiere on Wednesday, October 14, on Disney+.
