The surprise VisionQuest post-credits scene saw Robert Downey Jr.'s Doctor Doom "awaken" Scarlet Witch, Wanda Maximoff, but showrunner Terry Matalas says he wanted RDJ's Tony Stark to make a voice cameo earlier in the season as well.
Speaking on the Brandon Davis Show, Matalas was asked if there was a rule about whether Tony Stark could be shown on screen. The answer, according to Matalas, was no, and he even explored a voice cameo from Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark before thinking better of the idea.
"You know, things cost money. We're on a television show budget. There was a moment where I wanted to hear Stark call in and talk to Mary McDonnell['s character Katerina Wells] and say, 'Your time's up on this code.' And it was the old Tony, it was the Tony before the Jericho missiles. And he's like, 'Sell me the code, so I can turn it into my things.' But, you know, it would have been a big ask to get Downey to come in and do it."
Given that Downey Jr. commands eye-wateringly large paydays at Marvel, it's easy to imagine why even a voice cameo might be out of the streaming show's budget. But Matalas goes on to say, "In retrospect, I actually would have tried having met him now; he's wonderful. But actually it might have taken away from what that story was."
While Tony Stark doesn't appear in any new footage in VisionQuest, we do learn more about his pre-Iron Man past, including the fact that he bought Markridge Biotech for its artificial general intelligence code developed by Dr. Josephine Carrington and Virgil Horton (aka The Client). It was this code that formed the basis of both Vision and Ultron.
While we didn't get a Tony Stark cameo in VisionQuest, we got the next best thing: an appearance from Doctor Doom. The upcoming Avengers villain popped up in one of episode 8's post-credits scenes to resurrect Wanda Maximoff after she buried herself under Mount Wundagore. Some Marvel fans even think they've already worked out what comic storyline Doomsday and Secret Wars will be adapting when it comes to the Maximoff family.
VisionQuest is streaming now on Disney Plus. For more, dive into our spoiler-filled VisionQuest ending explained, or check out our interview with E.D.I.T.H. star Emily Hampshire talking UltraVision.
