James Spader returning as Ultron could have been an easy nostalgia play. Bring back the voice, remind Marvel fans of “Avengers: Age of Ultron,” let the callback do the work, and move on. But Paul Bettany says “VisionQuest” is using Ultron for something much more central to Vision’s next story.

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The Disney+ series, which premieres October 14, 2026, brings Bettany back as Vision, with Terry Matalas (“Star Trek: Picard”) serving as showrunner. Marvel has positioned the show as the closing chapter of the trilogy that began with “WandaVision” and continued through “Agatha All Along.” Given Vision’s origin, Ultron’s return was always one of the more loaded pieces of the announcement.

On the Happy Sad Confused podcast, Bettany was asked about Spader being back in the mix for the first time in years.

“Yeah, it’s Spader back in, yeah,” Bettany said. “And he is delicious. He’s so funny in this. It’s so delicious to watch him, and we loved working together. I loved it so much.”

Vision and Ultron have been linked since the former’s first MCU appearance. Ultron helped create the body that became Vision, while Vision emerged as the calmer, more humane counterpoint to Ultron’s contempt for humanity. “WandaVision” later complicated Vision’s identity by separating memory, body, and emotional continuity. Bringing Ultron back now suggests the new series is not just chasing unresolved plot but digging into the character’s origin wound.

Asked whether viewers will see a physical manifestation of Ultron or Spader’s face in some form, Bettany would not give details.

“I think that would be beyond my pay grade to tell you,” he said. “But worth sticking around for. Worth sticking around for.”

He did, however, make clear that Ultron is not just passing through the story. “And it’s largely that story,” Bettany said. “The story largely revolves around that relationship. And it’s real fun. It’s a fun start. I’m very, very excited.”

Bettany also addressed a separate franchise rumor: the idea that he might play Lord Voldemort in HBO’s upcoming “Harry Potter” series. On that front, he was much firmer.

“I’ve heard nothing about that through any official channels at all,” Bettany said. “No, that’s just a rumor. These are just rumors.” Bettany did not sound hostile to the franchise. He sounded more aware of how quickly online casting chatter can turn into a phantom job offer.

“I mean, I think it’s amazing,” he said. “You know, I like the IP. This is what people say. Yeah. But, yeah, I don’t know. And maybe that’s enough prosthetics for me in my life. You know, it’s been a lot.”

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Asked whether he had thought seriously about what he would do if that call ever came in, Bettany said he had not. “No, not yet,” he said. “I haven’t. I mean, because it’s literally a rumor, and I think that that stuff is how you go mad as an actor. Right, right. If you followed every internet Reddit rabbit hole. ‘Oh, God, I’m gonna be James Bond.’”

For now, Bettany has an actual franchise return on the books, and it is not Voldemort. “VisionQuest” brings him back to Marvel on October 14, 2026, with Ultron apparently sitting near the center of the story rather than at the edge of it.