One of the biggest reasons why many Marvel Cinematic Universe aficionados were excited to hear about Disney+’s WandaVision is that it’s going to revive Paul Bettany’s Vision. The circumstances behind his return are still a mystery but, after what he’s been through, it’s just a relief to see him again. Bettany was also happy to return, though he admitted that his future in the franchise seemed very uncertain for a while. At one point, he even believed that Marvel Studios was prepared to give him the boot.
As many probably remember, Vision died at the end of 2018’s Avengers: Infinity War – first at the hands of his lover, Wanda Maximoff, and then by Thanos, who ripped the Soul Stone from his forehead. This led Paul Bettany to believe that Marvel was about to part ways with him, and that feeling only amplified when studio president Kevin Feige asked to speak with him:
I thought I was being brought in to be let go. I thought Kevin was doing the decent thing and bringing me in, and he and [executive producer] Louis [D’Esposito] were going to tell me, ‘It’s been a great ride, and it’s over.’ So it was a really pleasant surprise for me and my bank manager, too, obviously.
Paul Bettany’s recent comments to EW definitely indicate that he was more than ready for the worst, so you can only imagine how he felt when he discovered he was actually being asked to be the co-lead of a new project. Something like that can definitely put a person on an emotional rollercoaster.
Speaking of emotional rollercoasters, WandaVision has the potential to give us all of the feels as well. The show focuses on Wanda and the resurrected Vision settling down and making a new life for themselves in suburbia. Not all is as it seems though, as their seemingly serene and jovial reality gradually begins to unravel.
The show’s cast and crew have praised the project since it was first announced. Bettany believes it to be the “oddest” of the various productions Marvel Studios has produced and, in a later statement, he went a step further by calling it “fucking bonkers.” Kathryn Hahn, who will be making her MCU debut as Agnes (the nosy neighbor), also described working on the show as a “surreal” experience.
Based on what we’ve seen so far, WandaVision is proving to be one of the most unique and ambitious installments in the MCU canon. The show really committed to exploring different eras of American television, so much so that some scenes were even performed in front of a live audience:
The show is sure to have its fair share of spectacle as well, but this unique direction will be a nice way to give Marvel fans a change of pace. And with everything he got to do on the show, Paul Bettany is probably thrilled he didn’t miss out on it.
You can catch WandaVision, complete with Paul Bettany, when it premieres on Disney+ on January 15, 2021.
