VisionQuest finale WandaVision reunion scene, Digi Mart USA News: James Spader is one of the most beloved and versatile actors working today, with a resume spanning ’80s classics such as Pretty in Pink and Wall Street to the critically acclaimed indie dramedy Secretary. He has also earned three Emmys for his work on Boston Legal, became a fan-favorite on The Office, and starred in over 200 episodes of the crime thriller The Blacklist.
His newest role is once again on the small screen, though he reprises a character he last played in the 2015 film Avengers: Age of Ultron: Ultron. In VisionQuest, he is one of the show’s standout parts, whether he is flirting with Jocasta (T’Nia Miller) or dealing with his son Vision’s (Paul Bettany) angst.
Many viewers were anxious when WandaVision and Agatha All Along creator Jac Schaeffer had to leave VisionQuest. Showrunner Terry Matalas has proven himself capable of taking on the role.
He previously served as showrunner of 12 Monkeys and two seasons of Star Trek: Picard, and he wrote and directed the finale.
Collider spoke with Spader and Matalas about the final episode. Matalas discussed pulling off the sitcom sequence and the emotional reunion, while Spader described how he balanced playing two wildly different yet intrinsically linked characters.
Matalas said the sitcom idea came up in the writers’ room. The team wanted to honor WandaVision and considered a few versions involving UltraVision, including one centered on Vision and Jocasta.
Halfway through the writing, Matalas decided the story had to focus on Vision and Ultron, which he described as what the show truly is. Writer Cindy Appel, who has sitcom background, helped shape the sequence.
Matalas said it was a big swing and that he was nervous about how it would land.
Spader said he approached the show as a standalone story and did not have an encyclopedic knowledge of the Marvel universe. He described the idea of Vision grabbing onto a sitcom and Ultron taking over as creative, original and both irrational and sensible.
He said the tone shifted within scenes, becoming dark at times and then laugh-out-loud funny.
Matalas was also asked about the return of Billy in the finale and whether Ghost Agatha had any role in it. He said the reunion timing and scope were planned around what was right for Tommy, Billy and the family story, and he said the return affects Vision in an important way.
On the love triangle between Jocasta, Ultron and Virgil, Spader said he and Matalas discussed the character of Virgil about three-quarters of the way through filming. Matalas said Virgil had a different energy from Ultron, and he pointed to a monologue delivered by Paul Bettany that ends with the question “Who are you?” Spader described the structure of building up to the big bad guy and then meeting him, calling him dangerous and not what viewers would expect from a big bad guy.
All episodes of VisionQuest are streaming on Disney+.
