Everyone knows that Marvel Studios do not do character teasing without having a plan for them somewhere further down the line. The first tease of Adam Warlock will have taken six years to pay off when Guardians of the Galaxy 3 comes to cinemas next May, and similarly, Doctor Strange’s Mordo has not been seen for that same length of time but makes his return next month’s Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. For that reason, actor Paul Bettany’s tease that he may or may not be reprising his role as White Vision in the multiverse spanning story could hint at his WandaVision character’s imminent return.
Of course, Vision was killed by Thanos in the final act of Avengers: Infinity War, when he had the Mind Stone ripped from his head by the Mad Titan, leaving him to fall gray and lifeless. Soon after this, the snap saw a grieving Wanda dusted until she returned in Avengers: Endgame to take on the one who stole Vision from her. In the wake of this, we had WandaVision, in which the future Scarlet Witch created a whole reality around herself that allowed her to live her life again with Vision. By the end of Disney+ series, that reality was gone, but in the finale, a new White Vision was created that lives on somewhere.
Now, with Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness set to continue Wanda’s story, it is not surprising that the question of where White Vision is and whether he could be part of the movie has started to be asked. Actor Paul Bettany, who originally provided the voice for Tony Stark’s A.I. helper J.A.R.V.I.S. which later became embodied in Vision, has now answered the question of whether his return is on the cards sooner rather later … well, as much as any actor answers a question about a Marvel movie. He told The Late Show With Stephen Colbert:
“This is a really great question and again I said that I was going to be entirely honest with you. You’re asking if I was in… am I in Doctor Strange 2? Yes, no. Yes, no. Yes. No. I don’t know. Am I? What do you think… I can neither confirm nor deny rumors that I am in said and aforementioned Doctor Strange 2.”
Vision’s Multiverse of Madness Return Could Set Up Elizabeth Olsen’s Rumored Wanda Movie
Although there are still many unknowns when it comes to the future of the MCU beyond next year’s Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania – currently the last confirmed release on Marvel’s slate – there have been recent reports that Elizabeth Olsen has been given a new contract to continue appearing as Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch and that is said to include her own solo movie. A return of White Vision in Multiverse of Madness could help set up that movie and Wanda’s future in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
With Wanda set to be the villain for at least part of the Doctor Strange sequel, White Vision could potentially be the only person who could bring her out of the darkness, and Bettany’s character would therefore play a pivotal if potentially small role in the movie that would have greater ramifications in the future. Again, this is something that Marvel has been doing since the beginning, and it looks like the latest movie is going to set up many plot points and characters who will appear again in the future. There would not be many who would bet against Bettany’s White Vision being one of them.