With the Marvel Cinematic Universe's last movie being a prequel for a character that has died, and the next movie being an origin story for an entirely new character, it's even more of a mystery than usual what the future holds for many of our favorite characters from the first three phases of the MCU. One of the biggest question marks surrounds Vision, who is still technically dead, except, maybe not. So will Paul Bettany be returning to the franchise? At this point it doesn't appear he's aware of any plans to bring him back, but he's not counting out the possibility.
Speaking with Deadline about the Emmy-nominated WandaVision, Paul Bettany seems to be quite happy with where he left things if the show does turn out to be the end of the road for his character. Still, he's stopping short of calling it the end himself, because he's well aware that when it comes to Marvel, anything is possible. Bettany explains...
It was a beautiful culmination for all these things Lizzie and I have done together. We really found a lane for ourselves, and this was different in tone from those movies. But you never know with Marvel, whether you’re done, or not. So I don’t want to call it the end yet. This was one of the most creative experiences of my life, joyful and free, making this show. To see it embraced by an audience the way it was, was so wonderful.
While the Vision that we knew in WandaVision faded away at the end, he also survived. The physical body of the original Vision that was turned into a weapon, seemingly was given all the memories of Vision in the end. He flew off for parts unknown. He is, in many ways, the real Vision, and since he is out there, he can certainly reappear at some point.
The end of WandaVision showed us Wanda studying magic, with an apparent goal of bringing her children back, and if she's focused on reuniting her family, that's going to include Vision as well. That makes it seem likely the MCU isn't quite done with Vision. It's possible we could see him as early as Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, though if that's the case Paul Bettany absolutely knows Vision will be back and is playing coy. He has previously stated that he is no longer under contract to Marvel Studios.
It's possible that movie will simply be the next step in a longer journey, and Vision could return, but somewhere down the line. Either way, the door is certainly open, and while there are certainly characters that we lost in the last two Avengers movie that we don't expect to see again, Vision isn't really one of them. It seems more than likely he will be back, the only real question is when.
