‘Iron Man’ actor Faran Tahir reprises the role of the villain

Marvel Studios’ upcoming Vision series starring Paul Bettany goes back to the source code: Faran Tahir is joining the show as Raza, the role he originated in the studio’s first feature film, 2008’s “Iron Man.”

Bettany returns as the ghostly white version of the synthezoid he first played in the 2015 film “Avengers: Age of Ultron,” and James Spader reprises his role from “Age of Ultron” as the titular villain AI. Todd Stashwick (“Star Trek: Picard”) also plays an unspecified character.

Reviving Tahir’s character nearly 20 years after he first appeared will mark the longest gap between appearances in the Marvel Cinematic Universe to date. It’s an even more impressive feat given that Raza — best known for kidnapping Robert Downey Jr.’s Tony Stark, the inciting incident that led Start to become Iron Man — was apparently killed off halfway through “Iron Man ” by the film’s main villain, Obadiah Stane (Jeff Bridges). But of course, death is far from a permanent condition in the MCU; Bettany’s Vision dies in 2018’s “Avengers: Infinity War,” only to be brought back to life in 2021’s Disney+ series “WandaVision.”

Seam Black exclusively reported, Terry Matalas (“Star Trek: Picard,” “12 Monkeys”) is the executive producer and showrunner for the Vision series, which is set to debut in 2026.

Tahir is also a “Trek” alumni, playing the captain of the USS Kelvin in the opening sequence of 2009’s “Star Trek.” His other roles include the feature films “Elysium” and “Escape Plan” and the television series “The Old Man,” “12 Monkeys,” “Scandal” and “Once Upon a Time.”