WandaVision's finale is just around the corner, and to say Marvel fans are expecting some sort of big reveal about the MCU is an understatement. That may be thanks in part to the high bar Disney+ has set with the first two shock-dropping seasons of The Mandalorian, but actor Paul Bettany is also partly to blame. Or majorly to blame even. The actor is doing a bit of bemused damage control, admitting that he may have semi-unintentionally trolled fans a bit too hard earlier in the season when he teased a mega-cameo happening.
Previously, Paul Bettany teased during an interview that WandaVision would be introducing a new character played by an actor that he really admired and had waited a long time to work with. Now that he's seen the speculation-filled aftermath of his claims, the actor walked back those comments in a recent appearance on Good Morning America, in which he explained he was merely being cheeky when referring to Episode 9, when it was revealed S.W.O.R.D. had rebuilt Vision, making it so Bettany would be acting opposite himself, as it were. The MCU star was asked about the situation, and he confirmed it was a joke gone sideways and explained how the past few weeks have been for him.
Yeah you know when you think something is going to be funny and you say it, and then you actually panic about it? Which, is what I did because fans started guessing who it might be and they were guessing people like Benedict Cumberbatch or Patrick Stewart and I was thinking 'My God, that's a good idea. They're going to be so disappointed when they find out it's me.'
Paul Bettany thought he was going to have a bit of fun at the expense of only a few fans, perhaps not realizing how seriously his quote would be taken by seemingly the entire viewership. He may have underestimated just how desperate fans are for MCU reveals, and that they'd be picking apart each and every episode of WandaVision, as well as the cast and crew's press interviews, hoping to glean something about the future of the Marvel Universe. Some people that may or may not look and talk exactly like me even wrote speculative articles about who the major cameo maybe, and I bet they feel really silly right now.
The Good Morning America anchors were mostly satisfied with that answer, save for Michael Strahan. The Super Bowl winner pointed out that if Paul Bettany was capable of trolling America once, he could certainly be doing it again during that very interview. Strahan asked if there would still be a major cameo was on the way for the WandaVision finale, but only got the following deflection from Bettany:
Well, you know I'd love to answer that question but my service keeps gli...[freezes]
Paul Bettany clearly isn't going to spill the beans on any secrets just one day out from the WandaVision finale hitting Disney+, so I guess fans are just going to have to wait and see for themselves. I'm personally hoping for his sake that there is at least one unexpected arrival, because I can't imagine the amount of grief he'll get from the Marvel fandom for years to come if there isn't. I also just want to see someone cool and unexpected arrive in WandaVision, but don't we all? It'll help if White Vision is as memorable as his more human counterpart.
WandaVision is currently available to stream on Disney+. Be sure to stop by CinemaBlend after the finale for a breakdown of any major reveals, especially since we kind of called out Paul Bettany's trolling after the episode aired.
