In interviews leading up to WandaVision's final episode, Paul Bettany teased working with an actor he'd spent his whole life hoping to share the screen with. Teasing the chemistry they shared on set, it sounded like a major cameo was in the works (something which sent fans into a frenzy).
Of course, we'd later learn that Bettany was talking about himself, and the dual roles he plays in the finale as the Hex Vision and the original which has been reprogrammed by S.W.O.R.D. (white/spectral Vision). Now, the actor has opened up on what it was like to share the screen...with himself.
"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," Bettany explains in an interview with Marvel.com. "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!"
While his stunt double gave Bettany someone to play off during the scenes the two Visions share, but the actor still obviously had to learn two sets of lines for each half of the performance.
"I have to learn his 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.’"
Bettany adds that he had to "learn it from Vision's point of view and then relearn it from The Vision's point of view because things become much easier to learn when you understand why the person is saying it and what they want. And I realized I couldn't learn it because I had these two opposing objectives and desires in my head. And it was just impossible."
While the white Vision's fate was left up in the air, we now know Bettany will return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. How much he'll have changed obviously remains to be seen, though.
Click on the "Next" button below to see how
WandaVision's finale sets up what comes next!
10. Ralph Bohner
Something tells us this will be one of the most controversial moments in WandaVision for many.
Monica Rambeau is being kept in Pietro's "man cave" in Agatha Harkness' house when the episode begins. While he still exhibits Quicksilver's powers, the S.W.O.R.D. agent soon figures out that this is actually his home, and "Pietro Maximoff" is, in fact, Ralph Bohner, an aspiring actor in Westview.
She removes his necklace (which Agatha was using to control him), and that's the end of that. He's not Quicksilver from another world - despite the fact he's played by Dark Phoenix star Evan Peters - or the original Pietro in a new body. Unfortunate, the MCU will have to make do without the speedster.
9. Vision Regains His Memories
After a meaningful conversation between the two Visions, they come to the conclusion that neither of them is Vision...but both somehow are. To right this, the Hex Vision restores the white one's memories, and he then comes to the conclusion "I am Vision" before taking off and disappearing.
It must have been pretty traumatic to remember your death, learn that you were rebuilt against your will, and that the woman you love has seemingly created a new Vision in a New Jersey town!
Paul Bettany will obviously return in some form, but what is this Vision, anyway? Does he no longer have emotions despite regaining his memory? That's one likely possibility, and he did ponder in Avengers: Infinity War what it meant to be powered by the Mind Stone. We're also willing to bet that it's at least possible Ultron may have taken over Vision's new form in some way.
8. "Agnes"
The Scarlet Witch uses her powers to trap Agatha Harkness inside her own mind, leaving nosy neighbour "Agnes" as her dominant personality. Based on what everyone else in Westview has said, that's not going to be an overly pleasant experience for the villainous witch.
Before that, though, Agatha warns Wanda that she's made a huge mistake by becoming the Scarlet Witch and will ultimately need her help in mastering abilities which make her more powerful than Doctor Strange. Wanda seems open to the idea, so we have to see more of Agatha, right?
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness seems likely, but we'll see if that comes to pass.
7. The Scarlet Witch
This was huge. As Jimmy Woo pointed out in an earlier episode of WandaVision, Wanda Maximoff doesn't have a superhero persona and never has in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
While she's sort of had a costume, she's never really been much more than a powered individual who works alongside Earth's Mightiest Heroes. Now, though, Wanda has an identity, and a clear purpose moving forward. There's a lot we don't know about what it means to be "the Scarlet Witch," but Agatha claims she's destined to destroy the world, so the hero may head down a dark path.
Is she destined to be the MCU's next big bad? Well, Wanda headed down a dark path in the comics.
6. House Of M Throwback
Talking of the Scarlet Witch's descent into madness in the comic books, Avengers Disassembled was followed by House of M, a storyline which saw Wanda manipulated into creating a new reality where mutants rule over the Earth. We're not expecting to see that in the MCU, and rather that her going insane, it seems more likely that these abilities will influence the Scarlet Witch's mindset.
Regardless, there was an awesome nod to the House of M storyline when the Hex came down and both Vision and the twins started to disappear. They disintegrated the same way as those who angered Wanda in the event series, and from a visual perspective, it looks phenomenal in live-action. Could this be something that happens again? Well, we certainly wouldn't be surprise.
Another awesome nod to the source material came when poor Vision shed a single tear...
5. No Big Bad...
Despite all those theories about Mephisto, Nightmare, and even Magneto, it turns out that it really was Agatha all along. She just wanted to take the Scarlet Witch's power for herself, something it appears has become a recurring theme in her life over the centuries based on what happened in Salem.
Agatha Harkness proved to be an effective villain, of course, and as we mentioned, the door is open to a return. Given her role as a mentor to Wanda in the comics, that makes a whole lot of sense.
With the Darkhold involved, Agatha may have ties to someone like Mephisto, but we're not banking on him showing up or being tied to the Scarlet Witch in any way. It's certainly possible, however.
4. ...And No Doctor Strange
Yes, despite months of rumours, there was no sign of the Sorcerer Supreme in the WandaVision finale.
Quite a few so-called scoopers claimed Benedict Cumberbatch was spotted on set, but we find it really hard to believe that ever happened, and Marvel Studios chose to cut his role! While the prospect of him showing up to help defeat Agatha Harkness sounded cool to begin with, can you now imagine who lame it would have been for Strange to show up last-minute and save the day?
A scene with him taking Wanda on as a student would have been equally as rubbish, so having the Scarlet Witch stand on her own two feet and somehow enter Strange's world makes way more sense.
3. A Familiar Voice
In the second post-credits scene, we find Wanda living what appears to be a peaceful life in a remote location, but in reality, she's intensely studying the Darkhold as the Scarlet Witch.
It can't be good to learn about her powers, and magic in general, from such a dark piece of writing, and "The Book of Sins" also has ties to Chthon, a possible villain in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. We'll see on that front, but the fact Wanda suddenly hears Tommy and Billy's voices is very noteworthy.
Is a greater power manipulating her, or has Wanda tapped into the Multiverse? The twins were very real, and the line about them choosing her to their mother could be significant. Yes, they were created by Chaos Magic, but perhaps Billy's powers helped the duo survive their fate?
2. Secret Invasion
The first post-credits scene doesn't work quite as well as the first, especially when Marvel Studios still hasn't really given us enough reasons to care about the Skrulls (beyond how goofy it was that they'd been posing as Nick Fury and Maria Hill in Spider-Man: Far From Home).
In the scene, we learn that Nick Fury wants to bring Monica into outer space, though we're guessing he's unaware of her apparent disdain for Carol Danvers or her newfound superpowers.
Clearly, the stage is being set for Captain Marvel 2, and possibly even the Secret Invasion TV series. The Marvel Cinematic Universe is definitely getting crazier, as it now seems Phase 4 will deal with both a Skrull invasion and magic in a big way. Will the two intersect at all, though, we wonder?
1. The Darkhold
We've mentioned the Darkhold a few times here, and that's because today's episode of WandaVision confirmed the book Agatha Harkness holds is indeed that. There was no mention of its role in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. or Runaways, and it looks totally different, so take that one as you will!
In the comic books, Chthon, a demonic Elder God who was the Earth's first practitioner of black magic, was the principal author of the Darkhold, so it's feasible he could show up at some point (or that he's merged with another villain like Mephisto or Nightmare). This book even ties into the Marvel Universe's vampires, so we're willing to guess it's going to be relatively big deal.
We learned in Doctor Strange that one of The Ancient One's books was missing, so chances are this is it, and the Sorcerer Supreme isn't likely to be happy about Wanda making use of it...