Disney+’s VisionQuest reimagines Ultron as a bearded, fedora-wearing human avatar played by James Spader, diverging from his original robotic form in Avengers: Age of Ultron. Showrunner mentions both budget considerations and the opportunity to highlight Spader’s performance, without explicitly prioritizing one over the other, and states concerns about undermining the film’s threat are unfounded.
The series draws comparisons to Battlestar Galactica through Ultron’s physical presence in Vision’s mind-mansion, where Vision can see him but Tommy cannot, mirroring Dr. Gaius Baltar’s relationship with Cylon Number Six. Meanwhile, Jocasta’s origin is reworked from her comic book roots, with the android now linked to Markridge Biotech rather than Ultron’s creation.