One fan-favorite ABC Marvel actor will be back for another round of action under Marvel Studios' watch this year. ABC has a long history with Marvel content, including some characters that have been directly integrated into the MCU's storytelling over the last few decades. Now, that story will continue into the latter stages of the Multiverse Saga, courtesy of Marvel Studios' next streaming release.
Marvel Studios released the first official trailer for VisionQuest after its presentation at the 2026 D23 Expo. The new footage revealed James D'Arcy, who will portray the human avatar of JARVIS, when the show hits Disney+ on October 14. This character is based on Howard Stark's butler, Edwin Jarvis, who inspired Tony Stark to create the first AI program in the 2008 Iron Man movie.
This trailer highlights D'Arcy's Jarvis as one of several human avatars of classic Marvel AI entities living together in a house, alongside Paul Bettany's Vision. From here, Vision works to piece together his memories from before his mind was transferred into the White Vision body at the end of 2021's WandaVision.
About halfway through the trailer, Jarvis is seen talking to Vision about the dangers of letting James Spader's Ultron (who returns for the first time since 2015's Avengers: Age of Ultron) stay with the group at the house.
Near the end, footage shows Jarvis seemingly in another part of the house as an electrical spark shoots from the wall and scares him, while the lights flash a bright blue.
D'Arcy made his MCU debut in 2014, playing Edwin Jarvis alongside Hayley Atwell's Peggy Carter in ABC's Agent Carter series. This show featured Jarvis as a core character, moving from serving as Howard Stark's butler to helping Peggy on her missions with the Strategic Scientific Reserve before the organization became SHIELD.
Four years after this show ended, D'Arcy got his big-screen debut in the MCU, making a cameo as Edwin Jarvis in 2019's Avengers: Endgame. Only seen for less than a minute, he showed up alongside John Slattery's Howard Stark when Robert Downey Jr.'s Tony Stark and Chris Evans' Steve Rogers traveled to Camp Lehigh in 1970 to retrieve the Tesseract. As Howard asked his butler if he had ever met before, Jarvis simply responded, "You meet a lot of people, sir."
D'Arcy's appearance makes him the first actor from any of the Marvel series that aired on ABC in the MCU to reprise their role in a live-action Disney+ series produced by Marvel Studios/Marvel Television. The other two shows to air on ABC during the MCU's run are Agents of SHIELD from 2013 to 2020 and Inhumans in 2017. Outside of D'Arcy, Marvel Studios has a handful of stars who have appeared in the MCU's movies and returned to ABC shows.
Other ABC Stars Who Have Made Mainline MCU Appearances
The aforementioned Hayley Atwell, as Peggy Carter, got her own two-season solo series following her MCU debut in Captain America: The First Avenger. She then appeared in Avengers: Endgame, What If...?, and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, and she is confirmed to return for this year's Avengers: Doomsday as well.
Another veteran of MCU movies, ABC shows, and Disney+ series is Jaimie Alexander's Lady Sif, who first appeared in 2011's Thor. She then guest-starred in two episodes of Agents of SHIELD and returned for a cameo in Season 1, Episode 4 of Loki on Disney+, alongside Tom Hiddleston, before playing a small role in 2022's Thor: Love and Thunder.
Arguably the biggest name to make this move is Samuel L. Jackson, who has played SHIELD leader Nick Fury since the MCU started with 2008's Iron Man. He, too, had a pair of appearances in Agents of SHIELD (both in Season 1), and he was a key player in both What If...? and Secret Invasion on Disney+. This comes on top of a dozen MCU movie appearances, ranking among the most appearances by any single actor in MCU history.
Looking ahead, the question is whether more ABC stars could return for more in the MCU. At the top of that list is Chloe Bennet's Daisy Johnson, whose Inhuman history and Quake nickname came in Agents of SHIELD Season 2. Rumors had suggested she was in Secret Invasion at one point, but given her history with Coulson and her insane power levels, she could be a force if she were integrated further into this universe.
From the same series, many have hoped to see Gabriel Luna's Robbie Reyes brought in after he became the Ghost Rider in Agents of SHIELD Season 4. This may not be as likely, given that Ryan Gosling's upcoming Ghost Rider movie is set for 2028.
Also potentially in play are heroes from other networks, including Cloak and Dagger from their Freeform solo series and the Runaways from their two-season run on Hulu. However, the jury is still out on how much Marvel wants to integrate those past TV stories into the greater MCU.
Richard Nebens joined The Direct in March 2020, now serving as the site's Senior Writer. He started his journalism career as a hobby in 2019 and is passionate about sharing news and stories from the entertainment industry, especially comic book movies, comedy, and sci-fi. Richard looks to expand his knowledge about movies and TV every day, and he is eager to stay locked into the latest releases and breaking news at every opportunity.
