A sequel to WandaVision is in the works at Marvel Studios.
On Friday, Deadline published a report that a new Marvel series for Disney+ is underway, with Jac Schaeffer as lead writer and executive producer. Its rumored title is Vision Quest, and it will star Paul Bettany as Vision in a follow-up to 2021’s WandaVision.
Deadline adds that there’s potential for Elizabeth Olsen to return as Scarlet Witch, despite Wanda seemingly dying at the end of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
While the plot is under wraps, the title has plenty of implications. Lifted from writer John Byrne’s memorable comic book storyline that ran in the pages of Marvel’s West Coast Avengers #42 through #52, elements of Byrne’s “Vision Quest” were seen in WandaVision, including the image of Vision’s disassembled mechanical body and the introduction of the ghostly “White Vision.”
But Deadline’s additional detail that the project is “unofficially” referred to as “the White Vision project” means it’s not Byrne’s “Vision Quest” the series may adapt, but another comic. Not only does this second source focus on White Vision taking a journey of rediscovery, but it also has multiversal elements that are all the rage for the MCU, and it could set up future Avengers sequels.
What comic could Vision Quest adapt?
In 1994, Marvel published a sequel miniseries to Byrne’s 1989 West Coast Avengers. Called Vision by Bob Harras, the comic saw the White Vision explore the United States and attempt to assimilate to reprogram his capacity for feeling warmth and empathy.
Adopting the name “Victor Shade,” White Vision zig-zags between New Orleans and Chicago, and runs a detective agency before meeting the Avengers again.
The antagonist is a hot-headed Vision from another Earth, dubbed Anti-Vision, who tries to murder Vision and absorb his superior intelligence. The end of the series has White Vision’s mind “swapped” into the green and yellow body of Anti-Vision, effectively restoring Vision to his normal self.
WandaVision told a different story than Byrne’s West Coast Avengers, but it did end with a similar status quo. On TV, Wanda undid her fabricated reality and sacrificed “her” Vision. The weaponized White Vision, created by S.W.O.R.D., was de-programmed and flew off on a journey of rediscovery.
What could Vision Quest mean for Phase 5 and 6?
The MCU is about to begin a new chapter, as Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania’s February 2023 release is set to kick off Phase 5.
Marvel studio head Kevin Feige declared this era “The Multiverse Saga,” with all storylines culminating in 2026 for what should be the biggest superhero epic ever: Avengers: Secret Wars.
With Vision Quest setting up a battle between Visions, and maybe even the “restoration” of Vision, it’s possible that Vision Quest will be a surprisingly important piece of Marvel’s grand plans for the multiverse.
While he isn’t himself these days, Vision is still one of the most important and powerful Avengers. The Marvel Universe will need him, but first he’ll have to figure out who he is again.
There is no release date for Vision Quest.
