James Spader has made his triumphant return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, appearing as a human version of Ultron in the new series “VisionQuest.” While he’s not the only returning MCU character, Ultron’s comeback has brought along some changes. For starters, he appears in his human form and now sports a very long beard.
The look may be a shock to fans who might know Spader best for his clean-shaven roles on “Boston Legal” and “The Blacklist.” “VisionQuest” creator Terry Matalas says it was a shock to him, as well. “He called me and he’s like, ‘Just so you know, I’m growing a beard.’ I’m thinking it’s Hans Gruber, right? This clean cut Alan Rickman villain thing,” he told the New Rockstars Podcast. “Then he came to set and it was that full … as he referred to it, a mane.”
While Matalas was skeptical at first, he said that Spader explained why the beard was necessary. “He … had a very good perspective on ‘I’m not a nine foot tall robot.’ And he needed to be Poseidon-like, godlike,” Matalas said. “And so I called Kevin [Feige] and I was like, I think we’re going to have a really interesting take on Ultron here.”
But the beard wasn’t the only Spader request. “Just as he sold me on the beard,” Matalas explains, “he goes, ‘and I’m going to wear a top hat.'” And while Matalas again had his reservations, the finished product makes it evident that Spader was right all along.
Spader says the beard fits Ultron’s character journey perfectly
While “VisionQuest” brings back several former MCU characters including Raza from “Iron Man,” none was as highly anticipated as Ultron. Appearing in Vision’s mind allowed James Spader to play the role as a human. He told Cineatomy that his idea to play the role with a long beard served multiple purposes. “The entrance of a character in a story is so important and you want to tell certain things that you don’t want to have to say,” he said. “So I wanted to show the passage of time. He’d been imprisoned.”
“VisionQuest” creator Terry Matalas said that, while that’s not how he envisioned Ultron on the show, he couldn’t deny the effectiveness. “It became this iconic thing that I never would have dreamed of,” he told the New Rockstars Podcast. “What’s wonderful about making television is that collaboration where writers or actors come up with these ideas that you never would would would have come up with.”
As you might expect, “VisionQuest” is full of surprises that might need a little explaining, but Matalas says the relationship between Spader’s Ultron and Paul Bettany’s Vision is at the heart of everything. “What you can do is comment on humanity and connection,” he said. “And who better to do it … with Paul Bettany, one of the greats, and James Spader.” Fans of the MCU who saw them go toe-to-toe in “Avengers: Age of Ultron” couldn’t agree more.
This story originally appeared on TVLine
