James Spader Didn’t Voice Ultron in 'What If…?’ Episode 8

The penultimate episode of What If…? breaks out of its previous structure. Literally. The Watcher (Jeffrey Wright), who usually narrates the series, is threatened by a universe where Ultron not only wins, but manages to get all of the Infinity Stones.

Ultron and The Watcher fight through time and space, flying through various multiverses and destroying the sanctity of The Watcher’s promise not to intervene with any universal happenings. Even Thanos couldn’t have dreamed of power like this. In fact, Ultron manages to kill the genocidal villain faster than Thanos could have even snapped.

It’s looking like episode 8 of What If...? will turn out to be the first part of a two-part finale for the first major animated Marvel series. If we’re lucky, it’ll even tie together some of the other multiverse “What Ifs...” we’ve seen, including Star Lord T’Challa, Captain Carter, and Party Thor. It could be an Avengers that looks a whole lot different than what we’ve seen in the past. Hopefully it won’t have an intersection with the zombie apocalypse we saw back in episode six.

But while viewers watched Tony Stark’s really bad mistake take over the multiverse, they probably noticed he sounds a little different too. In the MCU live-action films, Ultron is actually voiced (and motion captured) by James Spader, who’s also known for Boston Legal and The Blacklist. Spader didn’t reprise his role for What If…?, but the voice actor who takes over his role isn’t someone new to Marvel. In fact, he’s even been in the live-action films before.

Here’s who voices Ultron in Marvel’s What If…?

Why Isn’t James Spader Voicing Ultron in What If…?

There’s no specific reason as to why James Spader isn’t voicing Ultron. But, the actor is probably busy with The Blacklist.

Spader has actually scarcely worked in the last several years in general. Believe it or not, he hasn't done a movie—or anything other than The Blacklist—since his excellent motion capture performance as the evil android in 2015's Avengers: Age of Ultron.

Who Voices Ultron in Marvel’s What If…?

Ultron is voiced by Ross Marquand, who is best known for playing Aaron in The Walking Dead and The Immortal (among other roles) in Invincible. He’s not new to Marvel, though, having played Red Skull in Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame (and also voicing him earlier in What If...?).

Marquand wears the Ultron mantle well, still making the robot sound villainous and menacing. He’s well-versed in voice acting, and it shows. He’s set to reappear in the season finale of What If…? where the remaining superheroes and The Watcher can find a way to take him down.

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