"He needed to be Poseidon-like": VisionQuest showrunner reveals how Ultron's iconic beard came to life

VisionQuest seems to be doing well on Disney+ as the series continues to spawn theories after its two-episode premiere on Tuesday. As the next two episodes are just two days away, showrunner Terry Matalas went on the popular YouTube channel New Rockstars this weekend to discuss the series, original plans, behind-the-scenes factoids, and what we can expect in the upcoming episodes.

Very early on in the video, Matalas and Erik Voss (New Rockstars host) discuss James Spader's Ultron look in the series. Voss especially pointed at Spader's bearded look in the series and asked the showrunner if the actor grew the beard out of choice or after the crew's instruction. To this, the VisionQuest showrunner said:

"Beard is all Spader. He just showed up to set this way. When I wrote it, I imagined him more as Reddington as you do. And he called me and he's like, "Just so you know, I'm growing a beard." I [laughter] was like, "Great." And I am thinking it's Hans Gruber, right? This clean cut Alan Rickman-esque beard."

But Matalas revealed he and the rest of the cast were shocked to see Spader's bearded look. The showrunner revealed that Spader did clarify to him that the beard was a fully grown mane before the cameras started rolling. The creator further revealed the actor's justification for growing the beard:

"And I was like, should we talk about this beard? He's like, I'm a prisoner. And he also had a very good perspective on I'm not a 9 foot tall robot. And he needed to be Poseidon-like. Godlike."

VisionQuest shows a different side of Ultron:

The first two episodes of the show present Ultron as a prisoner in Vision's mind palace. He is forced to adopt a human avatar that resembles James Spader's bearded look. This new Ultron appreciates human art and paints, and Erik Voss pointed out that he likes WandaVision. Ultron even wants Vision to stop hiding and reveal himself to the world.

To push Vision, Ultron even reveals the android hero's location to Paladin. But despite this betrayal, Vision still can't get himself to erase Ultron out of existence. The second VisionQuest episode also includes a scene in which Ultron pushes Vision to save his son's life.

Thus, it is clear that being imprisoned for a decade inside Vision's mind has made Ultron wiser, and the beard only adds to the overall vibe of this character. One fan said:

"I really like the beard. He's a prisoner, like he said. But he's also got a beard that's reminiscent of philosophers like Marx and Darwin. But also a beard like Poseidon, a god."

Apart from discussing James Spader's look, Terry Matalas also discussed one of the theorized plotlines of the MCU series.

Matalas confirmed one specific character is not Paladin's client:

At the thirty-nine-minute, fifty-eight-second mark, the showrunner addressed one of the most intriguing mysteries of VisionQuest: Who hired Paladin? As of now, we have not seen the client's face, but we have heard their voice. The client's voice can be heard in episodes 1 and 2 over the bounty hunter's communication device.

It appears that they are using a voice modulator, which is why it could be any MCU character. A prominent fan theory put forth by Erik Voss about the client's identity is Joe Locke's Billy Maximoff. However, Terry Matalas confirmed Billy is not the client. The showrunner's exact words were:

"It's not Billy. I don't want everybody to go down to the Mephisto thing. It's like who is it? Who is it? Is it going to be Tony Stark? It's not that kind of story. It is important..."

Moreover, he said that the client's identity is not that important for now, as there will be "some time" before fans need to obsess over this mystery. This lines up with Polygon's review of VisionQuest, which suggested that this mystery will be resolved in the closing minutes of the seventh episode.

The showrunner also went on to talk about a fan theory he saw recently in which the viewer posted a screenshot of a scene featuring Tommy and Lisa. One of the background actors in that scene had a hairstyle similar to that of Joe Locke, which is why the fan thought the extra was Locke. But Matalas clarified that it wasn't Locke, shutting down the possibility of Billy appearing in VisionQuest.

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