When Marvel Studios started producing their own feature films it began with 2008’s “Iron Man.” That film kicked off a cinematic universe that has earned critical admiration, fan loyalty and billions and billions of dollars. One actor that we don’t always think of as being part of that launch is Paul Bettany.
READ MORE: “WandaVision” will arrive on Disney+ now in January
The London Born actor was heard, but not seen as the voice of J.A.R.V.I.S., an artificial intelligence that assisted Tony Stark (Robert Downey, Jr.) in a variety of ways. Four films later Bettany (and J.A.R.V.I.S.) transformed into the Vision, a powerful android that became a key member of The Avengers. The Vision also fell in love with another member of the team, the Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen), before sacrificing himself in “Avengers: Infinity War.” That was seemingly the end of Vision’s story until now. Somehow, still to be explained, the character has been resurrected in “WandaVision,” the first Marvel Studios series for Disney+.
READ MORE: Paul Bettany Has A Heartbreaking Personal Connection To ‘Uncle Frank’
Not much has been said publicly about the series except that it finds the Vision and the Scarlet Witch living an idyllic life in the suburban town of Westview after the events of 2019’s “Avengers: Endgame.” The Scarlet Witch’s reality-altering powers have seemingly transformed the town into different sitcom eras with one new character, Agnes (Kathryn Hahn), joining them as they jump from one sitcom world to another. The series also finds Teyonah Parris playing a grown up Monica Rambeau (first seen as a young girl in 2019’s “Captain Marvel”) and return of MCU characters Jimmy Woo (Randall Park) and and Darcy Lewis (Kat Dennings).
Marvel Studios notoriously likes to keep as many details about their projects secret until they are screened by moviegoers or, in this case, streaming viewers. Bettany, however, was happy to reveal some production details previously unknown while speaking to The Playlist for his new Amazon Studios drama, “Uncle Frank.” And might he have teased that some version of the Vision could be back for good? You decide.
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Did you know that this was going to come down the road, or were you surprised when they came to you?
Yeah, I was really surprised. I got a phone call. I got a phone call from Kevin Feige and Louis D’Esposito saying, can you come in? And I thought, oh this is it, I’m getting the bullet. You know, I’m a glass-is-half-empty kind of fella. And I thought, O.K., so they’re going to do the decent thing and sit me down and say, “Hey, it’s been a great run and we love you but this is it.” And this is what we’re getting the can feels like. And instead what happened was I sat down and they pitched this crazy bonkers exciting TV show. So it was really wonderful.
Well, I wanted to ask just because I know, I’ve known for a while about a lot of the ideas and the formatting for it, and we’ve seen in the trailer that different eras of television history are represented. Did you feel that you were making something unique?
Oh, yeah. O.K., so a couple of things. One that, you know, often in television, directors are brought in for two-episode blocks.
Yes.
And that stops you being able to, what they call cross-board,* Right?
Right.
So then when you can cross-board on something like this, you can really bank time. So, we shot the first episode in two days. And we basically shot it twice in front of a live studio audience. And then we were done with it. And so then you’ve already banked basically two-plus weeks that can be spent on the much more difficult, technically difficult stuff to do, like action. Right? We also had the brilliant Jess Hall, who’s a DP that I’ve worked with, I don’t know, three or four times. He is a genius. And we shot those episodes like “The Dick Van Dyke Show” would have been shot.
So, like a ’50s sitcom. That sort of staging.
Exactly like a ’50s sitcom. And then at a moment when you break those rules, and you move a camera to a place [and] suddenly there is a fourth wall in the scene, it becomes incredibly shocking and jarring. You know. And so, a little like if you broke the line in a movie where you have not been breaking the line, you know?
Sure.
You know how shocking and disorientating that can be. You know, to suddenly jump the line. And it’s a similar sort of thing. By setting up a very rigid 1950s sitcom style of shooting and then breaking it. But we had to learn and study each of those [eras], and how they got different by “Modern Family,” you’re in a very different type of sitcom than you were when you were in, I don’t know, “Leave it to Beaver” or “The Brady Bunch” or you know. So that’s kind of, it was really fascinating to do. And, really, really so much fun. I mean, for Lizzie and I and Kathryn, Teyonah, you know, studying all of those sitcoms was just, it was just a ball. I mean, I think I watched every “Dick Van Dyke” episode there is. And it is fantastic. The polish and panache that those actors, The things that they could do. I mean, they could sing, they could dance. They’re extraordinary all-round performers, you know?
I don’t know if you can answer in any way, is, has this series closed the door on you playing a version of this character or are there still possibilities down the road?
Well, you know, being a glass-is-half-empty kind of a guy, here’s what I’ll tell you, is I’ve been in since the beginning. And I’ve never, I’ve tried to never expect more than the thing that I’m doing right at this moment, and not to bank on anything. So, as we’re talking, I’m touching wood specifically knotty pine, in my Vermont cabin that I’m in. And who knows. You know, I’m going to hope for the best and prepare for the worst. We’ll see.
*Cross boarding is a television industry term which refers to when two or more episodes are shot simultaneously. This assures that a series does not have to return to a specific location.
“WandaVison” premieres on Disney+ on Jan 15.
