diff --git a/Cargo.lock b/Cargo.lock
index f4fa400..4e52035 100644
--- a/Cargo.lock
+++ b/Cargo.lock
@@ -223,7 +223,7 @@ dependencies = [
  "chrono",
  "chrono-tz",
  "half",
- "hashbrown 0.16.0",
+ "hashbrown 0.16.1",
  "num-complex",
  "num-integer",
  "num-traits",
@@ -412,7 +412,7 @@ checksum = "3b43422f69d8ff38f95f1b2bb76517c91589a924d1559a0e935d7c8ce0274c11"
 dependencies = [
  "proc-macro2",
  "quote",
- "syn 2.0.110",
+ "syn 2.0.111",
 ]
 
 [[package]]
@@ -423,7 +423,7 @@ checksum = "9035ad2d096bed7955a320ee7e2230574d28fd3c3a0f186cbea1ff3c7eed5dbb"
 dependencies = [
  "proc-macro2",
  "quote",
- "syn 2.0.110",
+ "syn 2.0.111",
 ]
 
 [[package]]
@@ -532,14 +532,14 @@ dependencies = [
  "proc-macro2",
  "quote",
  "rustversion",
- "syn 2.0.110",
+ "syn 2.0.111",
 ]
 
 [[package]]
 name = "borsh"
-version = "1.5.7"
+version = "1.6.0"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
-checksum = "ad8646f98db542e39fc66e68a20b2144f6a732636df7c2354e74645faaa433ce"
+checksum = "d1da5ab77c1437701eeff7c88d968729e7766172279eab0676857b3d63af7a6f"
 dependencies = [
  "borsh-derive",
  "cfg_aliases 0.2.1",
@@ -547,15 +547,15 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "borsh-derive"
-version = "1.5.7"
+version = "1.6.0"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
-checksum = "fdd1d3c0c2f5833f22386f252fe8ed005c7f59fdcddeef025c01b4c3b9fd9ac3"
+checksum = "0686c856aa6aac0c4498f936d7d6a02df690f614c03e4d906d1018062b5c5e2c"
 dependencies = [
  "once_cell",
  "proc-macro-crate",
  "proc-macro2",
  "quote",
- "syn 2.0.110",
+ "syn 2.0.111",
 ]
 
 [[package]]
@@ -649,9 +649,9 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "cc"
-version = "1.2.46"
+version = "1.2.48"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
-checksum = "b97463e1064cb1b1c1384ad0a0b9c8abd0988e2a91f52606c80ef14aadb63e36"
+checksum = "c481bdbf0ed3b892f6f806287d72acd515b352a4ec27a208489b8c1bc839633a"
 dependencies = [
  "find-msvc-tools",
  "jobserver",
@@ -700,9 +700,9 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "clap"
-version = "4.5.52"
+version = "4.5.53"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
-checksum = "aa8120877db0e5c011242f96806ce3c94e0737ab8108532a76a3300a01db2ab8"
+checksum = "c9e340e012a1bf4935f5282ed1436d1489548e8f72308207ea5df0e23d2d03f8"
 dependencies = [
  "clap_builder",
  "clap_derive",
@@ -710,9 +710,9 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "clap_builder"
-version = "4.5.52"
+version = "4.5.53"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
-checksum = "02576b399397b659c26064fbc92a75fede9d18ffd5f80ca1cd74ddab167016e1"
+checksum = "d76b5d13eaa18c901fd2f7fca939fefe3a0727a953561fefdf3b2922b8569d00"
 dependencies = [
  "anstream",
  "anstyle",
@@ -729,7 +729,7 @@ dependencies = [
  "heck",
  "proc-macro2",
  "quote",
- "syn 2.0.110",
+ "syn 2.0.111",
 ]
 
 [[package]]
@@ -902,7 +902,7 @@ dependencies = [
  "proc-macro2",
  "quote",
  "strsim",
- "syn 2.0.110",
+ "syn 2.0.111",
 ]
 
 [[package]]
@@ -913,7 +913,7 @@ checksum = "d38308df82d1080de0afee5d069fa14b0326a88c14f15c5ccda35b4a6c414c81"
 dependencies = [
  "darling_core",
  "quote",
- "syn 2.0.110",
+ "syn 2.0.111",
 ]
 
 [[package]]
@@ -1405,7 +1405,7 @@ source = "git+https://github.com/alamb/datafusion?branch=alamb%2Fupgrade_arrow_5
 dependencies = [
  "datafusion-doc",
  "quote",
- "syn 2.0.110",
+ "syn 2.0.111",
 ]
 
 [[package]]
@@ -1677,7 +1677,7 @@ checksum = "97369cbbc041bc366949bc74d34658d6cda5621039731c6310521892a3a20ae0"
 dependencies = [
  "proc-macro2",
  "quote",
- "syn 2.0.110",
+ "syn 2.0.111",
 ]
 
 [[package]]
@@ -1695,7 +1695,7 @@ dependencies = [
  "enum-ordinalize",
  "proc-macro2",
  "quote",
- "syn 2.0.110",
+ "syn 2.0.111",
 ]
 
 [[package]]
@@ -1733,7 +1733,7 @@ checksum = "8ca9601fb2d62598ee17836250842873a413586e5d7ed88b356e38ddbb0ec631"
 dependencies = [
  "proc-macro2",
  "quote",
- "syn 2.0.110",
+ "syn 2.0.111",
 ]
 
 [[package]]
@@ -1941,7 +1941,7 @@ checksum = "162ee34ebcb7c64a8abebc059ce0fee27c2262618d7b60ed8faf72fef13c3650"
 dependencies = [
  "proc-macro2",
  "quote",
- "syn 2.0.110",
+ "syn 2.0.111",
 ]
 
 [[package]]
@@ -2063,9 +2063,9 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "hashbrown"
-version = "0.16.0"
+version = "0.16.1"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
-checksum = "5419bdc4f6a9207fbeba6d11b604d481addf78ecd10c11ad51e76c2f6482748d"
+checksum = "841d1cc9bed7f9236f321df977030373f4a4163ae1a7dbfe1a51a2c1a51d9100"
 dependencies = [
  "allocator-api2",
  "equivalent",
@@ -2104,12 +2104,11 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "http"
-version = "1.3.1"
+version = "1.4.0"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
-checksum = "f4a85d31aea989eead29a3aaf9e1115a180df8282431156e533de47660892565"
+checksum = "e3ba2a386d7f85a81f119ad7498ebe444d2e22c2af0b86b069416ace48b3311a"
 dependencies = [
  "bytes",
- "fnv",
  "itoa",
 ]
 
@@ -2253,12 +2252,12 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "indexmap"
-version = "2.12.0"
+version = "2.12.1"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
-checksum = "6717a8d2a5a929a1a2eb43a12812498ed141a0bcfb7e8f7844fbdbe4303bba9f"
+checksum = "0ad4bb2b565bca0645f4d68c5c9af97fba094e9791da685bf83cb5f3ce74acf2"
 dependencies = [
  "equivalent",
- "hashbrown 0.16.0",
+ "hashbrown 0.16.1",
 ]
 
 [[package]]
@@ -2276,9 +2275,9 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "insta"
-version = "1.43.2"
+version = "1.44.3"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
-checksum = "46fdb647ebde000f43b5b53f773c30cf9b0cb4300453208713fa38b2c70935a0"
+checksum = "b5c943d4415edd8153251b6f197de5eb1640e56d84e8d9159bea190421c73698"
 dependencies = [
  "console 0.15.11",
  "once_cell",
@@ -2342,7 +2341,7 @@ checksum = "980af8b43c3ad5d8d349ace167ec8170839f753a42d233ba19e08afe1850fa69"
 dependencies = [
  "proc-macro2",
  "quote",
- "syn 2.0.110",
+ "syn 2.0.111",
 ]
 
 [[package]]
@@ -2357,9 +2356,9 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "js-sys"
-version = "0.3.82"
+version = "0.3.83"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
-checksum = "b011eec8cc36da2aab2d5cff675ec18454fad408585853910a202391cf9f8e65"
+checksum = "464a3709c7f55f1f721e5389aa6ea4e3bc6aba669353300af094b29ffbdde1d8"
 dependencies = [
  "once_cell",
  "wasm-bindgen",
@@ -2703,7 +2702,7 @@ dependencies = [
  "flate2",
  "futures",
  "half",
- "hashbrown 0.16.0",
+ "hashbrown 0.16.1",
  "lz4_flex",
  "num-bigint",
  "num-integer",
@@ -2937,7 +2936,7 @@ source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
 checksum = "479ca8adacdd7ce8f1fb39ce9ecccbfe93a3f1344b3d0d97f20bc0196208f62b"
 dependencies = [
  "proc-macro2",
- "syn 2.0.110",
+ "syn 2.0.111",
 ]
 
 [[package]]
@@ -2984,7 +2983,7 @@ dependencies = [
  "prost",
  "prost-types",
  "regex",
- "syn 2.0.110",
+ "syn 2.0.111",
  "tempfile",
 ]
 
@@ -2998,7 +2997,7 @@ dependencies = [
  "itertools 0.14.0",
  "proc-macro2",
  "quote",
- "syn 2.0.110",
+ "syn 2.0.111",
 ]
 
 [[package]]
@@ -3153,7 +3152,7 @@ source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
 checksum = "76009fbe0614077fc1a2ce255e3a1881a2e3a3527097d5dc6d8212c585e7e38b"
 dependencies = [
  "quote",
- "syn 2.0.110",
+ "syn 2.0.111",
 ]
 
 [[package]]
@@ -3206,7 +3205,7 @@ version = "0.10.5"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
 checksum = "2057b2325e68a893284d1538021ab90279adac1139957ca2a74426c6f118fb48"
 dependencies = [
- "hashbrown 0.16.0",
+ "hashbrown 0.16.1",
  "memchr",
 ]
 
@@ -3294,7 +3293,7 @@ dependencies = [
  "regex",
  "relative-path",
  "rustc_version",
- "syn 2.0.110",
+ "syn 2.0.111",
  "unicode-ident",
 ]
 
@@ -3374,7 +3373,7 @@ checksum = "e5af959c8bf6af1aff6d2b463a57f71aae53d1332da58419e30ad8dc7011d951"
 dependencies = [
  "proc-macro2",
  "quote",
- "syn 2.0.110",
+ "syn 2.0.111",
 ]
 
 [[package]]
@@ -3413,7 +3412,7 @@ dependencies = [
  "proc-macro2",
  "quote",
  "serde_derive_internals",
- "syn 2.0.110",
+ "syn 2.0.111",
 ]
 
 [[package]]
@@ -3481,7 +3480,7 @@ checksum = "d540f220d3187173da220f885ab66608367b6574e925011a9353e4badda91d79"
 dependencies = [
  "proc-macro2",
  "quote",
- "syn 2.0.110",
+ "syn 2.0.111",
 ]
 
 [[package]]
@@ -3492,7 +3491,7 @@ checksum = "18d26a20a969b9e3fdf2fc2d9f21eda6c40e2de84c9408bb5d3b05d499aae711"
 dependencies = [
  "proc-macro2",
  "quote",
- "syn 2.0.110",
+ "syn 2.0.111",
 ]
 
 [[package]]
@@ -3517,7 +3516,7 @@ dependencies = [
  "proc-macro2",
  "quote",
  "serde",
- "syn 2.0.110",
+ "syn 2.0.111",
 ]
 
 [[package]]
@@ -3647,7 +3646,7 @@ checksum = "da5fc6819faabb412da764b99d3b713bb55083c11e7e0c00144d386cd6a1939c"
 dependencies = [
  "proc-macro2",
  "quote",
- "syn 2.0.110",
+ "syn 2.0.111",
 ]
 
 [[package]]
@@ -3701,7 +3700,7 @@ dependencies = [
  "heck",
  "proc-macro2",
  "quote",
- "syn 2.0.110",
+ "syn 2.0.111",
 ]
 
 [[package]]
@@ -3734,7 +3733,7 @@ dependencies = [
  "serde",
  "serde_json",
  "serde_yaml",
- "syn 2.0.110",
+ "syn 2.0.111",
  "typify",
  "walkdir",
 ]
@@ -3758,9 +3757,9 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "syn"
-version = "2.0.110"
+version = "2.0.111"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
-checksum = "a99801b5bd34ede4cf3fc688c5919368fea4e4814a4664359503e6015b280aea"
+checksum = "390cc9a294ab71bdb1aa2e99d13be9c753cd2d7bd6560c77118597410c4d2e87"
 dependencies = [
  "proc-macro2",
  "quote",
@@ -3775,7 +3774,7 @@ checksum = "728a70f3dbaf5bab7f0c4b1ac8d7ae5ea60a4b5549c8a5914361c99147a709d2"
 dependencies = [
  "proc-macro2",
  "quote",
- "syn 2.0.110",
+ "syn 2.0.111",
 ]
 
 [[package]]
@@ -3814,7 +3813,7 @@ checksum = "3ff15c8ecd7de3849db632e14d18d2571fa09dfc5ed93479bc4485c7a517c913"
 dependencies = [
  "proc-macro2",
  "quote",
- "syn 2.0.110",
+ "syn 2.0.111",
 ]
 
 [[package]]
@@ -3881,7 +3880,7 @@ checksum = "af407857209536a95c8e56f8231ef2c2e2aff839b22e07a1ffcbc617e9db9fa5"
 dependencies = [
  "proc-macro2",
  "quote",
- "syn 2.0.110",
+ "syn 2.0.111",
 ]
 
 [[package]]
@@ -3929,9 +3928,9 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "tracing"
-version = "0.1.41"
+version = "0.1.43"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
-checksum = "784e0ac535deb450455cbfa28a6f0df145ea1bb7ae51b821cf5e7927fdcfbdd0"
+checksum = "2d15d90a0b5c19378952d479dc858407149d7bb45a14de0142f6c534b16fc647"
 dependencies = [
  "pin-project-lite",
  "tracing-attributes",
@@ -3940,20 +3939,20 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "tracing-attributes"
-version = "0.1.30"
+version = "0.1.31"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
-checksum = "81383ab64e72a7a8b8e13130c49e3dab29def6d0c7d76a03087b3cf71c5c6903"
+checksum = "7490cfa5ec963746568740651ac6781f701c9c5ea257c58e057f3ba8cf69e8da"
 dependencies = [
  "proc-macro2",
  "quote",
- "syn 2.0.110",
+ "syn 2.0.111",
 ]
 
 [[package]]
 name = "tracing-core"
-version = "0.1.34"
+version = "0.1.35"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
-checksum = "b9d12581f227e93f094d3af2ae690a574abb8a2b9b7a96e7cfe9647b2b617678"
+checksum = "7a04e24fab5c89c6a36eb8558c9656f30d81de51dfa4d3b45f26b21d61fa0a6c"
 dependencies = [
  "once_cell",
 ]
@@ -3995,7 +3994,7 @@ dependencies = [
  "semver",
  "serde",
  "serde_json",
- "syn 2.0.110",
+ "syn 2.0.111",
  "thiserror",
  "unicode-ident",
 ]
@@ -4013,7 +4012,7 @@ dependencies = [
  "serde",
  "serde_json",
  "serde_tokenstream",
- "syn 2.0.110",
+ "syn 2.0.111",
  "typify-impl",
 ]
 
@@ -4149,9 +4148,9 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "wasm-bindgen"
-version = "0.2.105"
+version = "0.2.106"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
-checksum = "da95793dfc411fbbd93f5be7715b0578ec61fe87cb1a42b12eb625caa5c5ea60"
+checksum = "0d759f433fa64a2d763d1340820e46e111a7a5ab75f993d1852d70b03dbb80fd"
 dependencies = [
  "cfg-if",
  "once_cell",
@@ -4162,9 +4161,9 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "wasm-bindgen-futures"
-version = "0.4.55"
+version = "0.4.56"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
-checksum = "551f88106c6d5e7ccc7cd9a16f312dd3b5d36ea8b4954304657d5dfba115d4a0"
+checksum = "836d9622d604feee9e5de25ac10e3ea5f2d65b41eac0d9ce72eb5deae707ce7c"
 dependencies = [
  "cfg-if",
  "js-sys",
@@ -4175,9 +4174,9 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "wasm-bindgen-macro"
-version = "0.2.105"
+version = "0.2.106"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
-checksum = "04264334509e04a7bf8690f2384ef5265f05143a4bff3889ab7a3269adab59c2"
+checksum = "48cb0d2638f8baedbc542ed444afc0644a29166f1595371af4fecf8ce1e7eeb3"
 dependencies = [
  "quote",
  "wasm-bindgen-macro-support",
@@ -4185,31 +4184,31 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "wasm-bindgen-macro-support"
-version = "0.2.105"
+version = "0.2.106"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
-checksum = "420bc339d9f322e562942d52e115d57e950d12d88983a14c79b86859ee6c7ebc"
+checksum = "cefb59d5cd5f92d9dcf80e4683949f15ca4b511f4ac0a6e14d4e1ac60c6ecd40"
 dependencies = [
  "bumpalo",
  "proc-macro2",
  "quote",
- "syn 2.0.110",
+ "syn 2.0.111",
  "wasm-bindgen-shared",
 ]
 
 [[package]]
 name = "wasm-bindgen-shared"
-version = "0.2.105"
+version = "0.2.106"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
-checksum = "76f218a38c84bcb33c25ec7059b07847d465ce0e0a76b995e134a45adcb6af76"
+checksum = "cbc538057e648b67f72a982e708d485b2efa771e1ac05fec311f9f63e5800db4"
 dependencies = [
  "unicode-ident",
 ]
 
 [[package]]
 name = "web-sys"
-version = "0.3.82"
+version = "0.3.83"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
-checksum = "3a1f95c0d03a47f4ae1f7a64643a6bb97465d9b740f0fa8f90ea33915c99a9a1"
+checksum = "9b32828d774c412041098d182a8b38b16ea816958e07cf40eec2bc080ae137ac"
 dependencies = [
  "js-sys",
  "wasm-bindgen",
@@ -4255,7 +4254,7 @@ checksum = "053e2e040ab57b9dc951b72c264860db7eb3b0200ba345b4e4c3b14f67855ddf"
 dependencies = [
  "proc-macro2",
  "quote",
- "syn 2.0.110",
+ "syn 2.0.111",
 ]
 
 [[package]]
@@ -4266,7 +4265,7 @@ checksum = "3f316c4a2570ba26bbec722032c4099d8c8bc095efccdc15688708623367e358"
 dependencies = [
  "proc-macro2",
  "quote",
- "syn 2.0.110",
+ "syn 2.0.111",
 ]
 
 [[package]]
@@ -4386,9 +4385,9 @@ checksum = "589f6da84c646204747d1270a2a5661ea66ed1cced2631d546fdfb155959f9ec"
 
 [[package]]
 name = "winnow"
-version = "0.7.13"
+version = "0.7.14"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
-checksum = "21a0236b59786fed61e2a80582dd500fe61f18b5dca67a4a067d0bc9039339cf"
+checksum = "5a5364e9d77fcdeeaa6062ced926ee3381faa2ee02d3eb83a5c27a8825540829"
 dependencies = [
  "memchr",
 ]
@@ -4442,28 +4441,28 @@ checksum = "b659052874eb698efe5b9e8cf382204678a0086ebf46982b79d6ca3182927e5d"
 dependencies = [
  "proc-macro2",
  "quote",
- "syn 2.0.110",
+ "syn 2.0.111",
  "synstructure",
 ]
 
 [[package]]
 name = "zerocopy"
-version = "0.8.27"
+version = "0.8.30"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
-checksum = "0894878a5fa3edfd6da3f88c4805f4c8558e2b996227a3d864f47fe11e38282c"
+checksum = "4ea879c944afe8a2b25fef16bb4ba234f47c694565e97383b36f3a878219065c"
 dependencies = [
  "zerocopy-derive",
 ]
 
 [[package]]
 name = "zerocopy-derive"
-version = "0.8.27"
+version = "0.8.30"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
-checksum = "88d2b8d9c68ad2b9e4340d7832716a4d21a22a1154777ad56ea55c51a9cf3831"
+checksum = "cf955aa904d6040f70dc8e9384444cb1030aed272ba3cb09bbc4ab9e7c1f34f5"
 dependencies = [
  "proc-macro2",
  "quote",
- "syn 2.0.110",
+ "syn 2.0.111",
 ]
 
 [[package]]
@@ -4483,7 +4482,7 @@ checksum = "d71e5d6e06ab090c67b5e44993ec16b72dcbaabc526db883a360057678b48502"
 dependencies = [
  "proc-macro2",
  "quote",
- "syn 2.0.110",
+ "syn 2.0.111",
  "synstructure",
 ]
 
@@ -4517,7 +4516,7 @@ checksum = "eadce39539ca5cb3985590102671f2567e659fca9666581ad3411d59207951f3"
 dependencies = [
  "proc-macro2",
  "quote",
- "syn 2.0.110",
+ "syn 2.0.111",
 ]
 
 [[package]]
diff --git a/src/cast_to_variant.rs b/src/cast_to_variant.rs
index 37e6819..f61d0c8 100644
--- a/src/cast_to_variant.rs
+++ b/src/cast_to_variant.rs
@@ -1,17 +1,18 @@
 use std::sync::Arc;
 
-use arrow::array::{Array, ArrayRef, StructArray};
+use arrow::array::{Array, ArrayRef, AsArray, StructArray};
 use arrow_schema::{DataType, Field, Fields};
 use datafusion::{
     common::exec_err,
     error::Result,
     logical_expr::{
-        ColumnarValue, ScalarFunctionArgs, ScalarUDFImpl, Signature, TypeSignature, Volatility,
+        ColumnarValue, ReturnFieldArgs, ScalarFunctionArgs, ScalarUDFImpl, Signature,
+        TypeSignature, Volatility,
     },
     scalar::ScalarValue,
 };
 use parquet_variant::Variant;
-use parquet_variant_compute::{VariantArray, VariantArrayBuilder};
+use parquet_variant_compute::{VariantArray, VariantArrayBuilder, VariantType, cast_to_variant};
 
 use crate::shared::{try_parse_binary_columnar, try_parse_binary_scalar};
 
@@ -28,16 +29,6 @@ impl Default for CastToVariantUdf {
     }
 }
 
-fn build_variant_array<'m, 'v, T: Into<Variant<'m, 'v>>>(
-    value_opt: Option<T>,
-) -> Result<ColumnarValue> {
-    let variant_array = VariantArray::from_iter([value_opt.map(|v| v.into())]).into();
-
-    Ok(ColumnarValue::Scalar(ScalarValue::Struct(Arc::new(
-        variant_array,
-    ))))
-}
-
 impl CastToVariantUdf {
     fn from_metadata_value(
         metadata_argument: &ColumnarValue,
@@ -133,39 +124,36 @@ impl CastToVariantUdf {
         Ok(out)
     }
 
-    fn from_array(_array: &ArrayRef) -> Result<ColumnarValue> {
-        todo!()
+    fn from_array(array: &ArrayRef) -> Result<ColumnarValue> {
+        // If the array is already a Variant array, pass it through unchanged
+        if let Some(struct_array) = array.as_struct_opt()
+            && VariantArray::try_new(struct_array).is_ok()
+        {
+            return Ok(ColumnarValue::Array(Arc::clone(array)));
+        }
+
+        let variant_array = cast_to_variant(array.as_ref())?;
+        let struct_array: StructArray = variant_array.into();
+
+        Ok(ColumnarValue::Array(Arc::new(struct_array)))
     }
 
     fn from_scalar_value(scalar_value: &ScalarValue) -> Result<ColumnarValue> {
-        match scalar_value {
-            ScalarValue::Null => build_variant_array(Some(Variant::Null)),
-            // String values
-            ScalarValue::Utf8(string_opt)
-            | ScalarValue::Utf8View(string_opt)
-            | ScalarValue::LargeUtf8(string_opt) => {
-                build_variant_array(string_opt.as_ref().map(|s| s.as_str()))
-            }
-            // Binary values
-            ScalarValue::Binary(binary_opt)
-            | ScalarValue::BinaryView(binary_opt)
-            | ScalarValue::LargeBinary(binary_opt) => {
-                build_variant_array(binary_opt.as_ref().map(|b| b.as_slice()))
-            }
-            // Boolean
-            ScalarValue::Boolean(b) => build_variant_array(b.as_ref().map(|b| *b)),
-            // Numbers
-            ScalarValue::Int8(i) => build_variant_array(i.as_ref().map(|i| *i)),
-            ScalarValue::Int16(i) => build_variant_array(i.as_ref().map(|i| *i)),
-            ScalarValue::Int32(i) => build_variant_array(i.as_ref().map(|i| *i)),
-            ScalarValue::Int64(i) => build_variant_array(i.as_ref().map(|i| *i)),
-            ScalarValue::UInt8(i) => build_variant_array(i.as_ref().map(|i| *i)),
-            ScalarValue::UInt16(i) => build_variant_array(i.as_ref().map(|i| *i)),
-            ScalarValue::UInt32(i) => build_variant_array(i.as_ref().map(|i| *i)),
-            ScalarValue::UInt64(i) => build_variant_array(i.as_ref().map(|i| *i)),
-
-            _ => todo!(),
+        if let ScalarValue::Struct(struct_array) = scalar_value
+            && VariantArray::try_new(struct_array.as_ref()).is_ok()
+        {
+            return Ok(ColumnarValue::Scalar(ScalarValue::Struct(
+                struct_array.clone(),
+            )));
         }
+
+        let array = scalar_value.to_array_of_size(1)?;
+        let variant_array = cast_to_variant(array.as_ref())?;
+        let struct_array: StructArray = variant_array.into();
+
+        Ok(ColumnarValue::Scalar(ScalarValue::Struct(Arc::new(
+            struct_array,
+        ))))
     }
 }
 
@@ -189,6 +177,20 @@ impl ScalarUDFImpl for CastToVariantUdf {
         ])))
     }
 
+    fn return_field_from_args(&self, args: ReturnFieldArgs) -> Result<Arc<Field>> {
+        let data_type = self.return_type(
+            args.arg_fields
+                .iter()
+                .map(|f| f.data_type().clone())
+                .collect::<Vec<_>>()
+                .as_slice(),
+        )?;
+
+        Ok(Arc::new(
+            Field::new(self.name(), data_type, true).with_extension_type(VariantType),
+        ))
+    }
+
     fn invoke_with_args(&self, args: ScalarFunctionArgs) -> Result<ColumnarValue> {
         match args.args.as_slice() {
             [metadata_value, variant_value] => {
@@ -204,12 +206,103 @@ impl ScalarUDFImpl for CastToVariantUdf {
 #[cfg(test)]
 mod tests {
 
+    use arrow::array::{FixedSizeBinaryBuilder, Int32Array, StringArray, StringViewArray};
+    use parquet_variant::Variant;
     use parquet_variant_compute::VariantArray;
 
     use crate::shared::{build_variant_array_from_json, build_variant_array_from_json_array};
 
     use super::*;
 
+    #[test]
+    fn test_scalar_float64() {
+        let udf = CastToVariantUdf::default();
+
+        let arg_field = Arc::new(Field::new("input", DataType::Float64, true));
+        let return_field = Arc::new(Field::new(
+            "res",
+            udf.return_type(&[DataType::Float64]).unwrap(),
+            true,
+        ));
+
+        let args = ScalarFunctionArgs {
+            args: vec![ColumnarValue::Scalar(ScalarValue::Float64(Some(3.25)))],
+            return_field,
+            arg_fields: vec![arg_field],
+            number_rows: Default::default(),
+            config_options: Default::default(),
+        };
+
+        let res = udf.invoke_with_args(args).unwrap();
+
+        let ColumnarValue::Scalar(ScalarValue::Struct(variant_array)) = res else {
+            panic!("expected struct scalar")
+        };
+
+        let variant_array = VariantArray::try_new(variant_array.as_ref()).unwrap();
+
+        assert_eq!(variant_array.value(0), Variant::Double(3.25));
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn test_array_int32() {
+        let udf = CastToVariantUdf::default();
+
+        let arg_field = Arc::new(Field::new("input", DataType::Int32, true));
+        let return_field = Arc::new(Field::new(
+            "res",
+            udf.return_type(&[DataType::Int32]).unwrap(),
+            true,
+        ));
+
+        let args = ScalarFunctionArgs {
+            args: vec![ColumnarValue::Array(Arc::new(Int32Array::from(vec![
+                Some(1),
+                None,
+                Some(-5),
+            ])) as ArrayRef)],
+            return_field,
+            arg_fields: vec![arg_field],
+            number_rows: Default::default(),
+            config_options: Default::default(),
+        };
+
+        let res = udf.invoke_with_args(args).unwrap();
+
+        let ColumnarValue::Array(arr) = res else {
+            panic!("expected array output")
+        };
+
+        let variant_array = VariantArray::try_new(arr.as_ref()).unwrap();
+
+        assert_eq!(variant_array.value(0), Variant::Int32(1));
+        assert!(variant_array.is_null(1));
+        assert_eq!(variant_array.value(2), Variant::Int32(-5));
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn test_return_field_extension_type() {
+        let udf = CastToVariantUdf::default();
+
+        let arg_field = Arc::new(Field::new("input", DataType::Utf8, true));
+
+        let return_field = udf
+            .return_field_from_args(ReturnFieldArgs {
+                arg_fields: &[arg_field.clone()],
+                scalar_arguments: &[None],
+            })
+            .unwrap();
+
+        assert!(matches!(return_field.extension_type(), VariantType));
+        assert_eq!(
+            return_field.data_type(),
+            &DataType::Struct(Fields::from(vec![
+                Field::new("metadata", DataType::BinaryView, false),
+                Field::new("value", DataType::BinaryView, true),
+            ]))
+        );
+    }
+
     #[test]
     fn test_scalar_binary_views() {
         let expected_variant_array = build_variant_array_from_json(&serde_json::json!({
@@ -257,6 +350,80 @@ mod tests {
         assert_eq!(&variant_array, &expected_variant_array);
     }
 
+    #[test]
+    fn test_array_string() {
+        let udf = CastToVariantUdf::default();
+
+        let arg_field = Arc::new(Field::new("input", DataType::Utf8, true));
+        let return_field = Arc::new(Field::new(
+            "res",
+            udf.return_type(&[DataType::Utf8]).unwrap(),
+            true,
+        ));
+
+        let args = ScalarFunctionArgs {
+            args: vec![ColumnarValue::Array(Arc::new(StringArray::from(vec![
+                Some("abcdefghijklmnop"),
+                None,
+                Some("hello world"),
+            ])) as ArrayRef)],
+            return_field,
+            arg_fields: vec![arg_field],
+            number_rows: Default::default(),
+            config_options: Default::default(),
+        };
+
+        let res = udf.invoke_with_args(args).unwrap();
+
+        let ColumnarValue::Array(arr) = res else {
+            panic!("expected array output")
+        };
+
+        let variant_array = VariantArray::try_new(arr.as_ref()).unwrap();
+
+        assert_eq!(variant_array.value(0), Variant::from("abcdefghijklmnop"));
+        assert!(variant_array.is_null(1));
+        assert_eq!(variant_array.value(2), Variant::from("hello world"));
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn test_fixed_size_binary_uuid_like() {
+        let udf = CastToVariantUdf::default();
+
+        let arg_field = Arc::new(Field::new("input", DataType::FixedSizeBinary(16), true));
+        let return_field = Arc::new(Field::new(
+            "res",
+            udf.return_type(&[DataType::FixedSizeBinary(16)]).unwrap(),
+            true,
+        ));
+
+        let mut builder = FixedSizeBinaryBuilder::with_capacity(3, 16);
+        builder.append_value(&[1u8; 16]).unwrap();
+        builder.append_null();
+        builder.append_value(&[2u8; 16]).unwrap();
+        let array = builder.finish();
+
+        let args = ScalarFunctionArgs {
+            args: vec![ColumnarValue::Array(Arc::new(array) as ArrayRef)],
+            return_field,
+            arg_fields: vec![arg_field],
+            number_rows: Default::default(),
+            config_options: Default::default(),
+        };
+
+        let res = udf.invoke_with_args(args).unwrap();
+
+        let ColumnarValue::Array(arr) = res else {
+            panic!("expected array output")
+        };
+
+        let variant_array = VariantArray::try_new(arr.as_ref()).unwrap();
+
+        assert_eq!(variant_array.value(0), Variant::Binary(&[1u8; 16]));
+        assert!(variant_array.is_null(1));
+        assert_eq!(variant_array.value(2), Variant::Binary(&[2u8; 16]));
+    }
+
     #[test]
     fn test_array_binary_views() {
         let expected_variant_array = build_variant_array_from_json_array(&[
@@ -312,4 +479,40 @@ mod tests {
 
         assert_eq!(&variant_array, &expected_variant_array);
     }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn test_array_string_view() {
+        let udf = CastToVariantUdf::default();
+
+        let arg_field = Arc::new(Field::new("input", DataType::Utf8View, true));
+        let return_field = Arc::new(Field::new(
+            "res",
+            udf.return_type(&[DataType::Utf8View]).unwrap(),
+            true,
+        ));
+
+        let args = ScalarFunctionArgs {
+            args: vec![ColumnarValue::Array(Arc::new(StringViewArray::from(vec![
+                Some("short"),
+                None,
+                Some("another"),
+            ])) as ArrayRef)],
+            return_field,
+            arg_fields: vec![arg_field],
+            number_rows: Default::default(),
+            config_options: Default::default(),
+        };
+
+        let res = udf.invoke_with_args(args).unwrap();
+
+        let ColumnarValue::Array(arr) = res else {
+            panic!("expected array output")
+        };
+
+        let variant_array = VariantArray::try_new(arr.as_ref()).unwrap();
+
+        assert_eq!(variant_array.value(0), Variant::from("short"));
+        assert!(variant_array.is_null(1));
+        assert_eq!(variant_array.value(2), Variant::from("another"));
+    }
 }