Nothing is gone from the MCU forever. Tim Blake Nelson’s the Leader for the first time since 2008’s The Incredible Hulk. Seeing as not many fans were scrambling to see the guy with the funky forehead again 17 years later, you might’ve thought this would win the prize for unlikeliest MCU comeback. And yet an Disney Plus show is about to snag the top spot.
The Disney Plus show in question is Paul Bettany’s Vision series — originally, and maybe still, called Vision Quest. Following hot on the heels of the surprisingly successful Agatha All Along, the Vision show is yet another expansion of the WandaVision-verse, this time starring White Vision as he seeks to “regain his memory and his humanity.” Star Trek: Picard‘s Terry Matalas serves as showrunner.
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Remarkably, Vision (/Quest) was already set to bring back a long-lost villain in the form of James Spader’s Ultron, returning for the first time since 2015’s Age of Ultron. This addition makes a lot of sense, though, considering Ultron’s ties to Vision’s creation. The latest casting news is far more head-scratching, though, as it delves all the way back to the MCU’s origins.
The MCU’s original villain is coming back (and no, it’s not Ironmonger)
According to Deadline, Faran Tahir is back in the MCU for the Vision series, reprising his role as Raza. This marks Tahir’s second ever Marvel appearance, even though he was there when the franchise took its first steps. For those that haven’t caught the 2008 film that started it all for a while (go watch it, it still holds up!), Raza is the leader of the Ten Rings terrorist cell that kidnaps Robert Downey Jr.’s Tony Stark in Afghanistan, precipitating his creation of the first Iron Man suit.
Although Jeff Bridges’ Obadiah Stane/Ironmonger is revealed to be the one pulling the strings by the end of the movie, Raza’s antagonistic role in the film’s first half means he really has the honor of being the original MCU villain. Even so, we never expected Tahir to come back, especially since the Ten Rings have been so thoroughly retconned since Iron Man — Shang Chi introduced the real Ten Rings and confirmed that immortal warlord Wenwu was the organization’s actual leader.
On a broader scale, Raza’s return is so unexpected because the MCU has come so far since it was about arms dealers getting held for ransom by Afghan terrorists. Something that’s attested to by the fact his second appearance is coming in a show all about a resurrected robot (whose original self was married to a witch and used to be a sitcom star). Exactly how he’ll factor into White Vision’s story is anyone’s guess.
Tahir is the fourth cast-member to be attached to Vision so far, after Bettany, Spader, and Todd Stashwick (reuniting with Matalas after Picard), who’s been hired for an unknown role. Expect more to follow as filming starts ahead of the series looking to land on Disney Plus sometime in 2026.
Published: Jan 16, 2025 02:33 pm