One Spider-Man: Far From Home character has been confirmed to share some screentime with the MCU's Utron in an upcoming Disney+ series. The last time fans saw James Spader's rogue comic book AI in the mainline MCU universe, he was battling with the Avengers for control of the world. While Earth's Mightiest Heroes thwarted his plans, the character has been confirmed to return to the franchise in 2026's Vision Quest, serving as one of the series' primary villains.
Despite the series being less than a year away (assumedly), relatively little is known about what Marvel Studios has in store for the Paul Bettany-led streaming adventure. What fans do know is that Bettany's synthezoid will be just one of many AI constructs in the new show, including Ultron, EDITH, and the mysterious Jacosta. A recent interview with one of the stars behind Vision Quest's many AIs let slip a little about the upcoming series.
Speaking with Etalk at The Artists for Peace and Justice annual gala, Vision Quest star Emily Hampshire revealed her MCU character will share the screen with James Spader's Ultron.
When asked about her taking on the role of EDITH, Hampshire responded, "James Spader is one of the best actors I've ever worked with," essentially confirming that she will, in some capacity, share the screen with the returning MCU star:
"What was amazing was that it was with Paul Bettany and James Spader, who are the best people. I've worked with some great people, and I was just in awe. Paul is just the [greatest]. I think we were in the womb together, and I kicked him and he laughed, and then we became friends like we've known each other all our lives. And James Spader is one of the best actors I've ever worked with."
The former Schitt's Creek actor also described the process of working on an MCU series for the first time, commenting on the secretive nature of the super-powered franchise, and the fact that when she was hired, she "had to look up what MCU meant:"
"When I first got this job, which I couldn't talk about for a year, which was very difficult, my lawyer had said to me, 'Now, you're in the MCU.' And I had to look up what MCU meant. But now I am fully immersed. I have watched all the movies. But I didn't know much about the MCU before; now I know everything. I was shocked at how secret it is. Like, we had to give in our scripts at the end of the day... So, it is very secret. I know a lot of secret things that I can't tell you."
Previously, EDITH appeared as the voice inside Tom Holland's Iron Man glasses in Spider-Man: Far From Home, which the late Tony Stark gifted to him following his death. To this point, Dawn Michelle King had voiced the disembodied AI.
According to reports, Hampshire will play the character in human form, marking the latest instance of an AI construct taking on a human-like form in the MCU (following in the footsteps of both Vision and Ultron).
Vision Quest is set to come to Disney+ sometime in 2026. The Paul Bettany-led streaming epic will pick up Vision's story from where it left off at the end of WandaVision, where the super-powered synthezoid now occupies a new all-white body and takes on several deadly rogue AIs. Bettany leads the new series, which also features Hampshire, Spader, Todd Stashwick, and T'Nia Miller.
How Will EDITH Factor Into Vision Quest?
There is plenty to get excited about with the upcoming Vision Quest series, but EDITH taking on a human form will almost surely be top of the list for fans who are amped for the new streaming show.
Hearing Emily Hampshire's AI character will share the screen in some form with the villainous Ultron brings up some interesting questions. Will she be fighting Ultron alongside Vision? Could she be a mechanical ally to James Spader's robotic villain?
There have been rumors that Vision Quest could potentially adapt the beloved Iron Man 2020 comic story, in which Tony Stark is forced to assemble an armored team to take on a rogue AI terrorist sect.
With Vision seemingly standing in for Tony in this instance, perhaps, EDITH will be recruited for him to take down Ultron and the villainous Jacosta, in an all-out AI tag-team match for the ages.
