Is Vision Quest Dead? Marvel Star Offers a Promising Update
What’s going on with White Vision?
It’s been almost three years since Marvel brought its cinematic universe to the small screen with WandaVision. The seminal series, bolstered by online discourse and the novelty of a new streaming platform, was water cooler TV for a world in lockdown. The stories it set in motion are still being discussed by MCU fans today, but that’s as much a blessing as a curse.
While some WandaVision threads have since continued in films like The Marvels and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, its biggest mysteries are still no closer to being resolved. Kathryn Hahn is set to reprise her role as Agatha Harkness, WandaVision’s villain, in a spin-off. But what of “White Vision,” the blank-slate version of the synthezoid we’d all come to know and love?
In the WandaVision finale, the White Vision essentially replaces the original Vision (Paul Bettany), who’d perished in gruesome fashion at Thanos’ big purple hands and was briefly resurrected by Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen). Though he possessed the original Viz’s memories — his creation via Ultron, his tenure with the Avengers, and his wedded bliss with Wanda — he has no emotional tether to them. He claims to be Vision, and he kind of is. But he has to regain his humanity to really become him, and that’s just what he sets out to do at the end of WandaVision.
The introduction of White Vision was interesting, but what’s next for the character?
The White Vision hasn’t been seen since jetting off to regions unknown, and Marvel has been coy about his next appearance. Vision Quest, another WandaVision spin-off, was announced in 2022, but updates have been rare. With no recent word on the series, and rumors of the project being shelved, it’s hard to say when (or if) Bettany will be reprising his role. But according to Bettany himself, he’ll be back as some form of Vision eventually.
The actor recently attended a panel at MegaCon 2024, where he fielded fan questions about Vision. One fan asked if Bettany would ever play Vision again “in any way, shape, or form,” to which Bettany answered, “Yes, 100%.”
He didn’t elaborate, but there’s a clear precedent for his return. Vision Quest lifts its title from writer John Byrne’s comic book storyline, which ran in Marvel’s West Coast Avengers #42 to #52. The arc sees Vision gruesomely torn apart and reassembled, an ordeal that forces him to regain his humanity by any means necessary. The precise details are a bit too complex for the MCU, requiring the involvement of Hank Pym, Wonder Man, and a slew of other characters, but it’s safe to assume Vision Quest will follow a similar emotional arc... if it ever gets off the ground.
While promising, Bettany’s comments don’t exactly confirm that Vision Quest is still in the works. But Marvel has been going through something of a creative overhaul lately, especially on the small screen. The bulk of its efforts have been dedicated to getting its Spotlight shows into motion, starting with Echo and continuing with Daredevil: Born Again. It may take some time to get back on track, but once Marvel gets its superpowered ducks in a row, the White Vision may finally return.
