There areSPOILERSahead, so proceed with caution. Fighting your own clone is a time-honored tradition in superhero stories. Christopher Reeve did it inSuperman III, Chris Evans did it inAvengers: Endgame. And now, Paul Bettany has done the same as two different versions of the android Vision in the final episode ofWandaVision. In a recent interview, Bettany admitted he was afraid of filming his scenes as the two Vision(s).
“To differentiate between the two characters in a way that didn’t just feel superficial… I mean, of course, one is purple, and one is white, so you have that going for you. But I wanted [The Vision] to be familiar and yet at the same time kind of intimidating. And for some reason, I was really intimidated by the idea. I kept putting off dealing with it because I knew we weren’t shooting it till later. I was letting some ideas percolate because he has a very quick arc for where The Vision needs to go. He has a big turn to get through. I was really frightened of it!”
In the second-to-last episode ofWandaVision, it was revealed that the Vision that audiences had been seeing in the show so far was actually a new being created entirely from scratch by Wanda using her magic. The body of the real Vision who had died inAvengers: Infinity Warwas in the safekeeping ofSWORD, who used a bit of magic from Westview to bring the body back to life asWhite Vision.
Naturally, this set up an epic matchup between the two android superheroes in the final episode ofWandaVision, as the two tried to settle their differences via punching, also a time-honored tradition in superhero comics. According toPaul Bettany, learning to enact a fight in which he was playing both the opponents, was a tricky business that needed some closely collaborative work with his stunt double, Adam Lytle.
“I have to learn [Adam’s] side of the fight. He would have to learn my side, and then we’d swap. It was all very confusing. And then it was really confusing with the - I don’t know it must be a three, four-page dialogue scene, which is [a lot]. We had this huge scene together. I couldn’t learn it. I’m good at learning lines. I couldn’t learn. And then I realized, ‘Oh, I’m trying to learn both things at once.'”
Now thatWandaVisionhas ended, fans are wondering what the next chapter in the MCU holds in store for Wanda Maximoff, now officially christened The Scarlet Witch and Vision. For now, watching all the episodes ofWandaVisiononce again might bring solace to fans, and help tide things over untilLokidebuts onDisney+in the coming days.
Written by Jac Schaeffer and directed by Matt Shakman,WandaVisionstars 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. This story originated atMarvel.com.
