GIG A MARVEL
Bettany ‘blown away’ by new Vision role
Paul Bettany is ready for viewers to marvel at the wonder that is “WandaVision.”
In the mysterious new series, Marvel superheroes Wanda Maximoff and Vision find themselves in an idyllic American suburb where life isn’t quite as perfect as it seems.
The series draws inspiration from sitcoms of different eras, and Bettany, who stars as the android Vision, says that’s no coincidence.
“You will discover that there’s a real reason for that as the two worlds collide,” Bettany told the Daily News. “Their world, which seems to be these two superpowered individuals hurtling through the American century through sitcoms at breakneck speed, and the world of the (Marvel Cinematic Universe) colliding into this sort of colossal, epic ending. I was just blown away by the scope of it.”
How exactly “WandaVision” fits into the story line of the Marvel movies remains unknown heading into the series premiere. The first two episodes of the show, which also stars Elizabeth Olsen as the sorcerer Wanda, debut Friday on Disney+, with the third scheduled to come out Jan. 22.
“WandaVision” marks a return to the Marvel franchise for Bettany, whose character seemed to meet his demise at the hands of the villainous Thanos in the 2018 blockbuster “Avengers: Endgame.”
Bettany thought his days playing Vision could be over at that point.
“I thought there was an 85% chance that I was done,” the actor recalled.
Shortly thereafter, however, Bettany was pitched the “WandaVision” series by Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige.
The actor quickly fell in love with the idea.
“I grew up on those sitcoms,” Bettany, 49, said. “I grew up in the ’70s in London, in the U.K., and Saturday and Sunday mornings were given over to American TV sitcoms like ‘I Love Lucy’ and ‘The Dick Van Dyke Show’ and ‘Bewitched’ and ‘The Brady Bunch,’ and a lot of the cultural touchstones that are in our show. I was very familiar with all of that, and it was really exciting to play with those styles of acting.”
To add to the show’s throwback feel, the first episode was shot in front of a live studio audience.
“I was so nervous, and we just went for it, and in one day we had the first episode,” Bettany said. “That is kind of extraordinary, and it was so thrilling. You really have to let go. You watch those shows and you think, ‘Oh, God, the performances are so big. I guess we’re going to do that. Are we really going to do that?’ ”
Vision debuted in the 2015 movie “Avengers: Age of Ultron.” The powerful character is a combination of Tony Stark’s artificial intelligence unit J.A.R.V.I.S., the robotic villain Ultron and a supernatural entity known as the Life Stone.
Bettany says his approach to playing the character in “WandaVision” differed from his work in the movies.
“Vision, at his core, is sort of decent and honorable and there for Wanda. As long as you adhere to that, it can take the addition of different things,” Bettany said.