You may not know it, but Paul Bettany has actually been a part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe since the very beginning. Back in 2008, director Jon Favreau cast the British star to be the voice of Jarvis, Tony Stark's digital butler, in the first Iron Man movie, and since then he has reprised the role in Iron Man 2, The Avengers and Iron Man 3. His next turn in a Marvel movie, however - if rumors are to be believed, will not only give him physical form, but also reintroduce him as a very popular character from the comics.
According to sources at The Daily Mail, the upcoming The Avengers: Age of Ultron will feature Bettany moving away from his voice-only role in the Marvel universe to become the artificially-intelligent android known as Vision. The British newspaper says that the actor was recently spotted alongside Jeremy Renner at Shepperton Studios in London where he was meeting with director Joss Whedon and doing a "series of costume, hair and make-up tests and worked with stuntmen and armourers." Bettany was seen being attended to by make-up experts who were adding various powders to the actor's face to create "Vision’s chalk-white complexion" (even though in the comics he is typically portrayed with redish skin). The Daily Mail adds that they expect Marvel and Disney to deny their report, and that they were denied comment when they asked about the story.
The Vision that we all know today - which is actually the second Vision in Marvel/Timely Comics history - was created by in the late 1960s by writer Roy Thomas and artist John Buscema. In the fictional universe, the character was actually created by Ultron (set to be the main villain of The Avengers sequel played by James Spader) and features many incredible powers, including flight, mass and density control, phasing, solar energy projection and regeneration. While introduced as a villain, he eventually became a good guy in the comics and a full member of The Avengers. You can get to know the character and his abilities by watching this clip from the animated series The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes:
If this story is true - and it's entirely possible that it's not - what do you make of it? Do you like the idea of Jarvis potentially taking physical form and becoming Vision? Do you think that Bettany would be a good choice to play the character, both in The Avengers: Age of Ultron and future Marvel movies? Answer our poll below and tell us what you think in the comments below.
This poll is no longer available.
