VisionQuest creator explains reason for show’s Irish actor recasting

EXCLUSIVE: JOE asked Marvel stars Paul Bettany and James Spader and the show's creator Terry Matalas about the actor swap.

The new eight-part Marvel series landed on Disney+ this week. Paul Bettany returns as the superhero synthezoid Vision, or at least a clone of the character.

The story begins with Vision trying to lay low in Scotland and blend in with humanity when a bounty is put on his head. To help him survive, he is assisted by several AI personas within his head, including former villain turned strange father figure Ultron (James Spader), as well as the friendlier E.D.I.T.H. (Emily Hampshire) and F.R.I.D.A.Y. (Orla Brady).

One fascinating element of VisionQuest is how the show takes the viewer into Vision's mind and anthropomorphises several of these AI programmes, all of whom previously appeared throughout the MCU.

For example, F.R.I.D.A.Y. was first introduced back in 2015's Avengers: Age of Ultron. There, she was voiced by Condon. The future Oscar nominee for The Banshees of Inisherin later reprised the role in five other MCU projects.

Condon did not return for VisionQuest, however, with the new anthropomorphised version played excellently by Irish actress Orla Brady (Rose Plays Julie, Star Trek: Picard).

As such, when JOE had the chance to chat to the series' stars Paul Bettany and James Spader, and its creator Terry Matalas, we asked about the reasons for the recasting.

Why is Kerry Condon not in VisionQuest?

According to the writer, Condon wasn't available. After all, she was in two movies nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars this year with F1 and Train Dreams.

This then presented him with the opportunity to cast Brady, with whom he had a great experience on his Star Trek series.

As Matalas explained: "I had worked with Orla before on a show called Star Trek: Picard, and I killed her off early and always felt quite bad about it because her last scene was really sensational.

"Kerry Condon wasn't available, and we had to quickly scramble to find a new F.R.I.D.A.Y., and I had heard her voice in my head as I was writing, and we jumped at the opportunity to get her."

Emily Hampshire and Orla Brady in VisionQuest

Brady's co-stars were full of praise for her, with Bettany stating: "She was wonderful to work with... Her eyes are incredible... Unbelievable and so expressive."

He then joked: "She can do so much with so little, which is helpful because Terry provides so little."

Spader then added: "She also brought a lot of gravitas, you know?" This led Terry to quip back: "And we needed that on this show."

JOE also spoke to VisionQuest's Emily Hampshire, who said of Brady: "I love her so much... I love her accent.

"I also love Edith and Friday's relationship and how it grows in the show. Yeah, you have a national treasure there."

How to watch VisionQuest:

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The first two episodes of VisionQuest are streaming now on Disney+, with the rest of its eight-episode season dropping weekly on Wednesdays.