As WandaVision hurtles through decades of sitcom history, one aspect of the series remains constant: its title characters. In light of that, Vision actor Paul Bettany had to piece together the essential parts of his character. According to the longtime Marvel Cinematic Universe star, Vision's core characteristics lie in his intelligence, naivete and love for Wanda Maximoff.
Asked what holds true about Vision's character no matter the circumstance, Bettany admitted, "Yeah, I was worried about that [his crazy circumstances] initially. I was like, 'Wow, this feels so different,' as I read the script and how do I keep him the same? And then I realized he's always been becoming something else. He's Jarvis, he's part Ultron, he's part Tony Stark, and he's omnipotent but he's also this sort of naive ingenue."
"Then I realized, well, I'll just throw a little bit of Dick Van Dyke in there and a little bit of Hugh Laurie and maybe little smidges. So as long as he remains -- I think what Vision is is just decent and honorable and exists for Wanda, and then you're safe," he concluded.
As Bettany points out, Vision made his MCU debut in Avengers: Age of Ultron. After Ultron's plans to build himself a synthetic body were foiled by the Avengers, Tony Stark and Bruce Banner finished what the evil android had started by uploading the Jarvis AI instead. Vision helped the Avengers defeat Ultron, then reappeared in Captain America: Civil War, where he sided with Stark over the Sokovia Accords. He also had a role to play in Avengers: Infinity War, which offered a brief glimpse of his forbidden affair with Wanda before he was tragically killed by Thanos, who sought the Infinity Stone in his forehead. He did not return for Avengers: Endgame, as he was dead, which makes his WandaVision role all the more surprising.
Disney+'s WandaVision takes place following the events of Avengers: Endgame, which saw Earth's Mightiest Heroes reverse Thanos' Infinity War snap and bring back half of all life in the universe. In the wake of that, Wanda Maximoff, aka the Scarlet Witch, has found herself in a bizarre reality where her life is a sitcom. However, something insidious lurks beneath the surface of this picture-perfect world, and that may spell trouble for more than just Wanda and Vision.
Written by Jac Schaeffer and directed by Matt Shakman, WandaVision stars Elizabeth Olsen as Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch, Paul Bettany as Vision, Randall Park as Agent Jimmy Woo, Kat Dennings as Darcy Lewis, Teyonah Parris as Monica Rambeau and Kathryn Hahn as Agnes. A new episode of the series releases every Friday on Disney+.