Paul Bettany Confirms Big Cameo Tease in WandaVision Was Himself
After his big cameo as White Vision was revealed in WandaVision's penultimate episode, Paul Bettany addresses trolling fans about his fake tease. For weeks the Marvel Studios actor harped about another big guest coming to the Disney+ show, keeping everyone guessing about who it might be. The shocking introduction of Evan Peters as fake Pietro made Bettany's claims more plausible, convincing a lot of viewers someone else was set to arrive in Westview and get involved in the Maximoff Anomaly.
Weeks went by, and this mysterious guest continued to be non-existent. As WandaVision crawled to its ending, people started having doubts while others fully clung to Bettany's words, expecting his tease would ultimately come to fruition. But after last week's episode titled "Previously On" debuted White Vision in the post-credits scene, it suddenly became apparent it had likely been a joke all along. It turs out the cameo Bettany was hyping up was just himself all along, simply playing a different version of his Marvel Cinematic Universe character.
In his latest guest appearance at Good Morning America, Bettany was asked about this prank, and the actor detailed how it started and quickly got out of hand. He also confirmed he was in fact referring to his appearance as White Vision. But at the very end of the interview, Bettany played coy after being asked about a genuine surprise guest in the finale, joking technical issues prevented him from responding.
You know when you think something's gonna be funny and then you say it and you actually panic about it? Which is what I did because fans started guessing who it might be, and they were guessing, like, Benedict Cumberbatch or Patrick Stewart. I was thinking "God that's a good idea," and they're gonna be so disappointed when they find out it's me.
As someone who's been a part of the MCU since the beginning, originally voicing Tony Stark's A.I. assistant JARVIS, Bettany undoubtedly knows what he can say when promoting. Considering he's the only one who talked about this surprise cameo throughout the whole promotional campaign for WandaVision, it makes sense it wound up being a joke. To his credit, the tease led to some fun speculation for viewers and seems like a pretty harmless prank at the end of the day.
It's definitely exciting to think there's still a big cameo saved for the WandaVision finale, even if it isn't the one Bettany has been teasing all along. However, it could be argued it's for the best there isn't one. Luke Skywalker's last-minute cameo in The Mandalorian was great and justified in terms of the show's narrative, but it distracted from its actual story — particularly what it meant for Din Djarin and Baby Yoda's future. This is something that hopefully doesn't happen in WandaVision; instead of pulling another twist, it's best to focus on resolving the lingering questions left on the show, especially since it will springboard Scarlet Witch's future in the MCU.
Source: Good Morning America