VisionQuest is the latest entry on the list of upcoming Marvel shows that will eminently hit the small screen, and there’s been some solid buzz around the show. Created by Terry Matalas, the Paul Bettany-led series is set to close out the “WandaVision Trilogy” and in many ways, signify the end of an era for Marvel Studios’ TV branch. I’ve been eager to get people’s thoughts on the show and, now, reviews have finally been published. With that, I’m now particularly excited over one detail critics keep mentioning.
While Bettany returns to play his beloved Marvel Cinematic Universe character on the show, he’s technically playing a different iteration. The thoughtful and occasionally witty Vision who factored heavily into the Infinity Saga, as he’s been rebuilt into the aggressive and more cynical White Vision from WandaVision. I wondered how critics would feel about this new iteration of the character and hoped he’d still be endearing in some sense. Well, thankfully, critics seem to be all in on the character, with TheWrap’s Hunter Ingram saying this:
Bettany walks more of a tight rope than ever before with this rebooted Vision. He needs to be cold, but thawing. Overly literal, but with flourishes of personality. Despite Vision’s insistence that emotions aren’t part of his programming, an electric Bettany brings a warmth to the role to which his AI has to rise.
For those who need a refresher, this White Vision gained the memories of his predecessor near the end of WandaVision. However, the powerful machine does not possess the core qualities that made the Avengers’ resident android so unique. When the white antihero speaks about his precursor in the trailer for this 2026 TV schedule entry, he says, “I have his memories, but not his virtue.” Jake Kleinman of Polygon seems to have been entertained by that distinction:
It's a subtle difference, considering that Bettany always performed the character with a certain degree of disengaged objectivity, but as you sink into the new series, that difference becomes a blazing focal point of the entire story. This is a Vision struggling to understand how to be as human as his predecessor, and his failure to do so weighs on him at every turn. Bettany captures that struggle with remarkable restraint.
When Bettany first got involved with the MCU years ago via Iron Man, he voiced the A.I. system J.A.R.V.I.S., who would eventually become Vision. The Amadeus star has gotten to try some different things while playing this character, and it sounds like VisionQuest gives him the opportunity to stretch his acting chops even more. Kourtnee Jackson of CNET seems to fuel that notion:
Bettany cleverly downplays the good-natured Vision fans fell in love with years ago, and stars as an indifferent, different version of the synth. We don’t know him, and he doesn’t know himself, either, and that’s what makes his performance so clever.
Not everyone is completely sold on this new version of Bettany’s beloved character off the top. In his mostly positive review for IGN, Jesse Schedeen notes that this iteration of one of the MCU’s most powerful characters isn’t so easy to latch onto:
Regardless, this newer, less compassionate Vision is a harder character to connect with. Bettany certainly draws a firm distinction between the roles in his performance, but there’s just something a little off-putting about a Vision who shows such contempt for his fellow man and kills with abandon. By the end of Episode 2, that problem begins to recede somewhat, but there’s definitely a major adjustment period fans of the character will have to endure.
Despite that, most pundits seem pleased with this take on Wanda Maximoff’s robotic lover and the way in which Bettany is portraying him. Liz Shannon Miller of Consequence puts it like this:
Since 2021, Bettany has played a small role in Robert Zemeckis’s Here, starred in a series adaptation of Amadeus, and done some theater — so watching him dive into a starring role like this, navigating the nuances of Vision as a character and handling all sorts of surprising shifts, serves as a valuable reminder that Bettany’s been heartily underutilized by not just the MCU, but by Hollywood in general. It really feels like the outer limits of his potential as an actor haven’t been reached — there’s so much he’s able to play with so few words.
I was already looking forward to checking out this latest Marvel show (which currently holds an 85% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes), but these takes on White Vision’s characterization and Paul Bettany’s performance make me even more optimistic about what’s to come. And that’s not even everything fans have to look forward to, as there’s also the twisted father-son dynamic between Vision and Ultron and the emergence of Thomas Shepherd, Viz’s son. I look forward to seeing how this eight-episode show plays out and how it positions Vision for the future.
Disney+ subscription holders can check out VisionQuest when it makes its two-episode debut tonight, October 13, at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT.
