WandaVision theory reveals a terrifying dead Avengers villain could return

The first TV spot for WandaVision offered a glimpse into Scarlet Witch’s trippy new reality, hinting that something very sinister was at play. We know the Disney+ series will be directly connected to Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness — and maybe The Eternals as well — a mindblowing new theory suggests that WandaVision harbors a connection to an earlier chapter in the Marvel Cinematic Universe that could mean the return of a fearsome Marvel villain we thought we'd never see again.

Earlier leaks claim that Nightmare, a ghoulish supervillain who rules the Dream Dimension, could be the primary in WandaVision. But if this theory is correct, the true enemy may be even scarier — at least for the show's two main characters.

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Wanda Maximoff has a long history with sentient robots, and it might come back to haunt her in WandaVision. Prior to her siding with the Avengers and becoming romantically involved with Vision, Scarlet Witch and her brother Pietro (Quicksilver) worked alongside Ultron in Avengers: Age of Ultron.

In fact, the two were connected in more ways than one. Ultron harnessed the power of the Mind Stone, while Wanda’s powers originated from exposure to that same stone. When Wanda turned on Ultron, he seemed emotionally hurt — unusual for the confident and arrogant artificial intelligence.

Did Ultron have an emotional attachment to the Scarlet Witch?

Reddit user Lumba theorizes that not only did Ultron have real emotions, but he was actually in love with Wanda. The theory — which is currently one of the most popular entries on Reddit's Fan Theories subreddit cites several examples throughout Age of Ultron that reveal as much.

Ultron was clearly hurt when Wanda turned against him. "Please, don't do this," he says. Later, when he meets Vision, he seems emotionally hurt again, saying "My vision... they really did take everything from me."

The crux of this theory lies in its connection to Vision. After all, a part of Ultron still lives on in Vision, and it’s possible the reason Paul Bettany's character even fell in love with Wanda at all is because of Ultron’s affection for her.

It's possible Ultron might even factor into WandaVision. Yes, Ultron was ultimately destroyed by Vision, who subsequently died at the end of Avengers: Infinity War. However, they were both artificial intelligence. Theoretically, their consciousness might still exist and may have been uploaded into a computer despite their physical bodies being gone.

It’s possible that’s the reason for S.W.O.R.D’s involvement in WandaVision. Perhaps Wanda finds out the military space agency has a digital copy of Ultron and/or Vision’s psyche and that’s how she enters the warped reality seen in the show's first trailer. Or maybe Ultron still exists in some form and tricks Wanda into thinking she’s sharing a life with Vision knowing she’d never want to live out a family sitcom scenario with a killer AI.

There's also the fact that Ultron likely saw Vision as his replacement. As payback, Ultron could replace Vision to live out his days with Wanda. It's even possible Ultron wants revenge on Wanda herself for betraying him and ripping out his heart.

All that said, it’s a pretty twisted idea when you think about it, though it also makes a lot of sense given Marvel's penchant from bringing back old villains. Plus, considering how weird and far-out WandaVision already seems to be, throwing Ultron into the mix could be downright comforting.

Until he tries to destroy the world all over again.

WandaVision will be available to stream on Disney+ in December 2020.