Major spoilers below for anyone who hasn't yet watched WandaVision Episode 8! Be warned!
With "Previously On," WandaVision completely changed up what MCU fans thought we knew about Wanda Maximoff's backstory, with Kathryn Hahn's creepster Agatha Harkness forcing Elizabeth Olsen's Wanda through another big sitcom trope: the flashback episode. Speaking of thwarted expectations, the episode's mid-credits scene may have given viewers a first look at the big new character that Paul Bettany previously teased fans with, and if that's the case, it makes Bettany a Class A Troll King.
In Episode 8, as Wanda relived various points of her past, it was revealed that S.W.O.R.D. Director Hayward had indeed doctored footage of Wanda's visit, making it appear as if she'd stolen Vision's body parts and resurrected them as a whole. That wasn't the case, though, with The Hex's version of Vision proven to be 100% Wanda's creation. The mid-credits scene revealed that Hayward utilized Vision's body for his own creation, the White Vision, which brings us back around to comments that Paul Bettany recently made. In the wake of Evan Peters' arrival as "Fietro," while fans were contemplating whether he was WandaVision's mind-blowing cameo, Bettany made it seem as if the MCU series had another A+ surprise on the way involving another major actor. But take another look at Bettany's words with renewed context:
There is one character that has not been revealed and it is very exciting, it’s an actor I’ve longed to work with all of my life. We have some amazing scenes together, and the chemistry between us is, I think, extraordinary, and it was just fireworks on set. So I’m really excited for people to see that stuff.
While Paul Bettany can be as serious a thespian as they come, and has delivered some Emmy-worthy performances during WandaVision so far. But that fanbase-igniting tease may have been his best acting yet, since it seems very likely now that Bettany was hinting at acting opposite himself for moments where the two Visions will share scenes together. That cheeky, clever so-and-so!
To date, Paul Bettany doesn't appear to have acted opposite himself as a clone or a twin or anything of that nature, and it's reasonable enough to think that he would indeed have an interest in utilizing himself as an acting partner. Go with what you know, amirite? So while fans have been falling over backwards theorizing about Ian McKellan or Michael Fassbender's Magneto, Patrick Stewart's Charles Xavier, and even Al Pacino as a potential Mephisto, Bettany was possibly chuckling to himself, knowing that he single-handedly sent that speculation train off the rails.
A quick trip to Twitter show that there are others out there who have the same idea in mind about who Paul Bettany was referring to.
WandaVision has just one episode left on Disney+, after which I will no doubt go into fits of hysterics over this highly intriguing sector of the MCU is no more. (Unless the finale sets up all kinds of other projects instead of a second season, that is.) Let us know in the poll below if you think Paul Bettany was trolling us all, or if you think there's still another big name still left to appear.
This poll is no longer available.
