VisionQuest

Premise

After being resurrected in WandaVision (2021), the synthezoid Vision lives in hiding while he attempts to understand who he is by communicating with various AI personas that are embedded in his programming. When a bounty is placed on Vision's head, he goes on the run with a mysterious teenager who may be his reincarnated son.

Cast and characters

Paul Bettany as Vision:A superpowered synthezoid and former Avenger created using the AIs J.A.R.V.I.S. and Ultron as well as the Mind Stone. Vision was killed in the film Avengers: Infinity War (2018) and then resurrected, with an all-white appearance and no memories or emotions, in the series WandaVision (2021). After his memories were restored at the end of that series, Vision is now struggling to reconnect with those memories because he has no emotional attachment to them, with showrunner Terry Matalas calling him a "blank slate"; he compared this journey to that of the Star Trek character Spock in the film Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986). By the start of VisionQuest, Vision has been disguising himself as a human and working at a pub for years. To cope with his identity crisis, he retreats into his internal Mindspace, where various AI personas embedded in his programming manifest through human avatars.

James Spader as Ultron:An AI created by Tony Stark and Bruce Banner for a peacekeeping program, before developing a god complex and attempting to eradicate humanity. Since his android body was destroyed at the end of the film Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015), Ultron has been uploaded into the Mindspace; there, he has access to the internet and spends his time painting, which has given him a better perspective on humanity than Vision has. Matalas said the interactions between Vision and Ultron were a central dynamic for the series, with Spader declaring that Ultron both loves and hates Vision, and that the two characters have a "sort of father-son-therapist-psychopath" relationship. Spader said VisionQuest allowed for further exploration of Ultron compared to his role in Age of Ultron, calling him one of the series' "driving forces" alongside Vision and Tommy.

Ruaridh Mollica as Tommy Maximoff / Speed and Thomas Shepherd:Tommy Maximoff is the speedster son of Vision and Wanda Maximoff. In the series Agatha All Along (2024), his twin brother Billy Maximoff placed Tommy's soul into the body of Thomas Shepherd, a teenager who drowned. In VisionQuest, Tommy is an 18-year-old orphan who is newly out of the foster care system in London, and has been pickpocketing to survive, with Mollica stating that the character "likes to read and play people. There's a bit of artful dodgery." He described Tommy as a grifter and small-time thief who is "lost in his life" and searching for a purpose; he is tormented by dreams and nightmares stemming from his memories of Wanda's Hex in WandaVision, leading him to face an identity crisis as he struggles to reconcile Tommy Maximoff with Thomas Shepherd. Mollica compared Tommy's journey of discovering his powers for the first time to that of Tobey Maguire's Peter Parker / Spider-Man in Sam Raimi's film Spider-Man (2002). Mollica drew inspiration from Matt Damon's performance as Will Hunting in the film Good Will Hunting (1997) for Tommy's portrayal.

Production

Background

In March 2009, Marvel Studios hired writers to help come up with creative ways to launch its lesser-known properties, including the Marvel Comics character Vision. Paul Bettany was cast as the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) incarnation of Vision for the film Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015). This version of the character is an synthezoid who is partially created from J.A.R.V.I.S., an AI assistant voiced by Bettany in earlier MCU films. Following Vision's death in the film Avengers: Infinity War (2018), Bettany was revealed to be portraying a reassembled and reactivated version of the character in the Disney+ series WandaVision (2021). This version was referred to as "White Vision" or simply "The Vision", and has an all-white appearance, similar to when the comic book character was resurrected with an all-white body and no memories or emotions.

Jac Schaeffer, the head writer of WandaVision, signed a three-year overall television deal with Marvel Studios in May 2021 to develop additional Disney+ projects. By October 2022, they were developing a series called Vision Quest, which would center on Bettany's "White Vision". Schaeffer was set as head writer after working on another WandaVision spin-off series, Agatha All Along (2024). Development of a Vision series was rumored as early as March 2021. The name "Vision Quest" was previously used for a comic book storyline in West Coast Avengers vol. 2 #42–45 (1988–1989); it was unclear if the series would be a direct adaptation of that comic. A writers' room was set to be formed in early November 2022, to include Peter Cameron, Megan McDonnell, and Eileen Shim. Cameron and McDonnell worked on WandaVision and Agatha All Along. Vision Quest was expected to follow "White Vision" as he attempts to regain his memories and humanity, with potential for Elizabeth Olsen to reprise her MCU role as Vision's wife Wanda Maximoff / Scarlet Witch.

Development

By October 2023, Marvel Studios shifted its creative philosophy to a more traditional television development process, moving away from head writers and beginning to hire dedicated showrunners for its series. By May 2024, Schaeffer was no longer developing Vision Quest due to her focus on making Agatha All Along, as well as for "personal reasons" according to Bettany, with Terry Matalas joining to redevelop the series and serve as its showrunner. Marvel Studios hired Matalas after being impressed with his work on the third season of Star Trek: Picard (2023), with Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige being a particular fan of the Star Trek franchise. Matalas was also set to direct for the series, alongside Christopher J. Byrne, Vincenzo Natali, and Agatha All Along episodic director Gandja Monteiro.

Matalas met with Schaeffer upon joining the project, and Marvel Studios executive Brad Winderbaum said it would be a "love letter" to the work Schaeffer had done, while being unique to Matalas. The series was still being referred to by Marvel as Vision Quest, but The Hollywood Reporter said this was not its official title. Disney was referring to the series as simply Vision by May 2025, before the title was officially announced as VisionQuest that October. The series has been described as the final installment of the trilogy that began with WandaVision and continued with Agatha All Along. Describing the relationship to those other two series, Matalas said VisionQuest was more of a sequel to WandaVision, while touching on some elements from Agatha All Along. Marvel Studios's Mary Livanos, who worked on those two series, returned as an executive producer for VisionQuest, alongside Bettany, Schaeffer, and Byrne, while Roopesh Parekh was a producer. The series is being released under Marvel Studios' "Marvel Television" label.

Writing

A writers' room opened during the week of May 20, 2024, featuring Cindy Appel, Michael Taylor, Christopher Monfette, Nicole Falsetti, and Matthew Okumura, alongside Matalas. Matalas described VisionQuest as an adventure and mystery drama, while also having elements of surreal comedy. The basis of the series was inspired by two scenes: the final conversation between Vision and his creator, the villainous AI Ultron, in Age of Ultron; and the "Ship of Theseus" discussion between the two versions of Vision in WandaVision. Matalas stated that the former scene was the "launching point" for VisionQuest, while Bettany described the series as a "mash-up of the Pinocchio and Frankenstein stories".

VisionQuest is set around 2028, years after the events of WandaVision, at the end of which Vision's memories were restored, and focuses on the character's struggle to reconnect with those memories because he has no emotional attachment to them, causing him to undergo an identity crisis. As part of his attempts to understand who he is, Vision interacts with the human population disguised as one of them during the day, while at night he retreats into the quantum processors of his own mind, where he has created the Mindspace—a gigantic mansion filled with environments he can alter at will. There, he communicates with various AI personas he rescued from the Avengers Compound and which are embedded in his programming; Vision encourages all these AIs to adopt human avatars as he does, and they possess distinct characteristics that help him understand different human qualities and abilities. Bettany said the AI personas are inside the Mindspace because Vision had "been saving and copying and pasting them to keep them alive", including Ultron, whom Bettany stated "has to be kept behind a pretty impressive firewall because he's a psychopath". Ultron returns in VisionQuest following his apparent death in Age of Ultron because the creative team wanted to include a character who was "really strong for Vision to play off of", and since they did not have access to Wanda, Ultron was chosen instead. Bettany said that the series' story revolves largely around the relationship between Vision and Ultron. Despite Wanda not appearing in the series, Matalas confirmed that Vision is aware of her death in the MCU film Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022).

The series continues the WandaVision trilogy theme of exploring parenthood, specifically fatherhood. Winderbaum said VisionQuest was about three generations—a grandfather, father, and son—and would explore if a man who had an abusive father could be a good father himself. Bettany said VisionQuest explores intergenerational trauma with fathers and sons, similar to how WandaVision explores grief, as well as "denial of pain, and denial of your own truth, and coming to terms with who and what you are". Matalas said each episode feels like a different kind of film, similar to how each episode of WandaVision pays homage to a different era of American sitcoms. Winderbaum said Matalas "knows the lore" of the MCU and the series would be rewarding for fans who had followed the franchise for years. Matalas described one scene in the finale as "a Marvel dream".

Casting

Bettany was confirmed to be reprising his MCU role of Vision with the news of the series' redevelopment in May 2024. In August, James Spader was set to reprise his role as Ultron from Age of Ultron. The character also appears as a human in the series because Matalas did not want him to look like a "CGI robot 24/7" incapable of expressing emotions or doing the things Spader can do with "just the twitch of an eyebrow". Todd Stashwick, who worked with Matalas on the television series 12 Monkeys (2015–2018) and Picard, joined the cast a month later. In January 2025, Faran Tahir was revealed to be reprising his role as Raza from the first MCU film, Iron Man (2008). Ruaridh Mollica joined the cast a month later as a character referred to as "Tucker", and T'Nia Miller was cast in the leading role of the android Jocasta in May. Soon after, Emily Hampshire was revealed to be portraying the key role of E.D.I.T.H., an AI introduced in the MCU film Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019) where she was voiced by assistant editor Dawn Michelle King. Matalas wrote the role with Hampshire in mind, as they had previously worked together on 12 Monkeys.

Matalas revealed in August 2025 that Stashwick was playing the comic character Paladin, and that Picard star Orla Brady was portraying the AI F.R.I.D.A.Y., replacing Kerry Condon who voiced the character in several MCU projects. Mary McDonnell was revealed as part of the cast the next month. In October, several more cast members were revealed: Henry Lewis and Jonathan Sayer as D.U.M.-E and U, respectively, two robots seen in the MCU films; and James D'Arcy as J.A.R.V.I.S., the AI originally voiced by Bettany in the MCU films. D'Arcy portrayed Edwin Jarvis, the human inspiration for the AI J.A.R.V.I.S., in several MCU projects. Matalas hired Lewis and Sayer after seeing them perform in the play Peter Pan Goes Wrong. That same month, Mollica was revealed to be portraying Tommy Maximoff / Speed and Thomas Shepherd, taking over from Jett Klyne who portrayed Tommy in WandaVision and the MCU film Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022). Mollica previously auditioned for the MCU role of Billy Maximoff, Tommy's twin brother. In November, Lauren Morais and Diane Morgan were revealed to be respectively portraying Lisa Molinari and the Handler, the latter an associate of Paladin. Additional castings include Cristian Lavin as a mercenary, and Polly Frame as Fiona Guthrie.

Design

Will Hughes-Jones was the production designer, with Sarah Young as the costume designer after she was an assistant costume designer on Age of Ultron. Despite the series not using generative AI, Hughes-Jones deliberately emulated the flawed aesthetic of AI software renderings in the design of the Mindspace—including stair banisters that lead nowhere, chairs built into walls, and wonky furniture. Over 40 custom "Vision"-branded props were created for the Mindspace kitchen, including Vision's Mustard, Firewall Hot Sauce, and Mindstone Soup. Matalas stated that the environments in the Mindspace resemble screensavers with "vibrant, bright, almost Mario Bros.-like colors".

Young's team had to recreate the White Vision suit for VisionQuest because only two original examples from WandaVision remained, and they had deteriorated during storage. Vision's pinstriped suit features a robotic code incorporated into the garment's stitching, which was written by Matalas alongside Young. Similarly, Vision's costume reflects the silhouette of his robotic form, including a jumper with the Mind Stone in its center. Tommy's costumes were designed based on the color palette of his counterpart from the comics, Speed. E.D.I.T.H. possessed an extensive wardrobe consisting of 21 distinct outfits—more than any other character in the series—including those of a boxer, bullfighter, priest, race car driver, and field medic; a consistent color palette of red, blue, and yellow was developed to maintain continuity despite the frequent costume changes. Costume references for E.D.I.T.H. included Amelia Earhart, female World War II pilots, Formula One branding, and vintage aviation, all reinterpreted through the Mindspace aesthetic. Paladin's clothing is deliberately less conspicuous than in the comics, allowing the character to blend into the crowd. His wardrobe includes both tactical and street versions of his jacket.

Filming

Principal photography began by March 14, 2025, at Pinewood Studios in London, under the working title Tin Man, with Byrne, Monteiro, Natali, and Matalas directing. Christopher Ross, Neville Kidd, and Ben Smithard were the cinematographers. Location shooting took place in and around London, as well as at various sites across the United Kingdom, including Hatfield House, which served as the setting for Horton Manor, and White Waltham Airfield, used for scenes set in Paladin's jet hangar. Two practical sets were extensively used in the production of VisionQuest: the first was a build spanning two streets, representing the crime-ridden city of Madripoor, which included the Princess Bar; and the second was the Mindspace mansion. The latter set took 14 weeks to build, and featured seven fully functional rooms—including a kitchen, living room, dining room, entrance hall, corridor, boiler room, and cinema—each designed to connect physically, allowing for continuous camera movement. Filming wrapped in late July 2025, and was completed in August, when Matalas indicated that production spanned seven months.

Post-production

Drew Nichols, Amelia Allwarden, Jamie Gross, Christopher Gay, and McKenna Cook served as editors for the series. John Haley served as visual effects supervisor, while Jonathan Barrass was the special effects supervisor. There were over 280 practical effects in the series, including magnetic rigging for Vision's flight scenes and interactive LED reflections for the Mindspace walls.

Music

Mick Giacchino, the son of frequent MCU composer Michael Giacchino, was revealed to be composing the series' score in March 2026.

Marketing

Footage from the series was included in a sizzle reel that was shown at Disney's upfront presentation in May 2025. Bettany and Winderbaum promoted the series during a Marvel Animation and Marvel Television panel at New York Comic Con 2025, where footage was shown. Mekishana Pierre and Nick Romano at Entertainment Weekly noted the "trippy setting" of a mansion in Vision's mind where he sees personifications of other AIs from the MCU, comparing this to the "reality-warping vibes" of WandaVision and Agatha All Along. The appearance of Spader as Ultron in both robot and human forms was also noted by commentators. Bettany and Matalas promoted the series during the 53rd Saturn Awards ceremony in March 2026, and Bettany appeared at Disney's May upfront presentation to announce the premiere date and show more footage.

At Disney's D23 convention in August 2026, a VisionQuest booth displayed a screen framed like a painting which showed a mysterious figure engulfed in flames. The image would glitch to show glimpses of Ultron. Commentators believed the fiery figure could be the character Jim Hammond / Human Torch, an android whose body was used to create Vision in the comics. Also at the convention, Feige, Bettany, and Spader promoted the series during a panel and debuted the first trailer before it was released online. The trailer, which featured the song "Losing My Mind", was described as "trippy" by Kirsten Chuba and Aaron Couch at The Hollywood Reporter, "mind-bending" by James Hibbs for Radio Times, and "as weird, if not weirder, than WandaVision" by Michael McWhertor of Polygon.

A second trailer was released on October 1, 2026. Michael Walsh of Nerdist praised the trailer, calling it an "absolute banger" that presented VisionQuest as "surreal, mysterious, heartfelt, and funny", while also bringing "real stakes" for both the series' characters and the MCU as a whole. Bettany promoted the series at San Diego Comic-Con Málaga 2026 on October 3, where the first 22 minutes of the premiere episode were screened. Bettany further promoted VisionQuest alongside Spader, Mollica, Hampshire, and Matalas at New York Comic Con 2026 that same month, where the series' first episode was screened. An immersive pop-up exhibition titled "Controlled, Altered, Deleted: The VisionQuest Collection" was on display at Studio 525 in New York on October 9 and 10, as part of that convention. The exhibition featured parodies of famous paintings, such as Grant Wood's American Gothic (1930) and Edward Hopper's Nighthawks (1942), among others.

Release

VisionQuest had its first two episodes screened at the 2026 BFI London Film Festival on October 12, ahead of their premiere on Disney+ on October 13. The remaining six episodes will be released weekly in two-episode blocks followed by the final two episodes releasing individually on November 3 and 10, respectively. An episode of VisionQuest will be screened at the SCAD Savannah Film Festival's third annual TV Sidebar on October 26—an event where Bettany will receive the Virtuoso Award. It is a part of Phase Six of the MCU.

Reception

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, 82% of 44 critics gave the season a positive review, and the average of rated reviews was 7.7 out of 10. The critics consensus reads, "Picking up where WandaVision left off, this series investigates the humanity beneath the robot, where the artificial becomes reality with heart, deliberate emotion, and a clear-eyed VisionQuest." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 62 out of 100 based on 16 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.

Future

In September 2026, Matalas said he had ideas for how the story of VisionQuest could continue in future seasons, while Bettany said the series was introducing a "new type" of Vision and would be a "springboard" for the character's future MCU appearances.