WARNING: The following contains spoilers for What If...? Season 1, Episode 8, "What If... Ultron Won?," streaming now on Disney+.
Marvel's animated What If...? series has remixed the happenings of the Marvel Cinematic Universe in increasingly interesting ways, bringing in recognizable heroes and villains for very different stories. One of these familiar foes is none other than the robotic Ultron, who finally returns after his 2015 cinematic debut.
Ultron in the series is a variation on his portrayal in Avengers: Age of Ultron, but there are a few notable changes this time around. Not only did this version of Ultron succeed in his conquest of the Earth, but his change in fate also sees a change in voice actors. Well-known actor James Spader voiced him in the movie, but that's not the case in What If...?.
Who Is Ultron's Voice Actor in What If...?
Ultron debuts in What If...?'s seventh episode, though he doesn't get a prominent (and voiced) role until the next episode, "What If... Ultron Won?." There, the events of Age of Ultron are altered, with Ultron planting his consciousness into the body of the Vision and defeating the Avengers. He eventually uses this power against the invading Thanos himself, robbing the beaten foe of his Infinity Stones and destroying all that stopped him in his universe. This seemingly total conquest sees him becoming bored until he learns of the multiverse and decides to take his ambitions to other realities.
Other characters on the show have their original MCU voice actors, such as Chadwick Boseman giving his final performance as T'Challa. Several heroes, however, do not have their actors from the movies voicing them, and the same goes for villains such as Ultron. Instead of James Spader, Ultron is voiced by Ross Marquand. Though this name might not be as well-known to even ardent MCU fans, the actor does have quite a history with Marvel and its villains.
Who Is Ross Marquand?
Ross Marquand already had a role in the live-action entries of the MCU, though most people may not have known where he showed up. He played the Stonekeeper iteration of the Red Skull in Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, replacing Hugo Weaving, who had no interest in playing the villain again. Marquand reprised the role of the Red Skull in the Captain Carter episode of What If...? before taking up the role of Ultron, officially replacing two MCU villain actors. He also voiced Ultron in the Avengers: Damage Control virtual reality attraction.
These "official" performances aren't Marquand's only experience with Marvel or comic book adaptations, however. He actually voiced Red Skull on the sketch comedy parody series Robot Chicken on Adult Swim, while also having played Aaron on The Walking Dead and Immortal and Rudy on Amazon Prime Video's Invincible. Given that Ultron in What If...? seems to now have multiversal pursuits, it's likely that Marquand will reprise the role in future episodes of the series, keeping one of Marvel's most fearsome villains alive, at least in animated form.
To see Marquand's Ultron take over the multiverse, What If...? Episode 8 is currently streaming on Disney+.