Paul Bettany
Understanding Trauma, Grief, and Resilience In WandaVision
It’s a tale as old as time: young woman is traumatized, radicalized, and experimented upon; A.I. takes physical form as a robot before evolving into something more traditionally, distinctly human. Woman and humanoid robot fall in love before humanoid robot is killed and woman, in her grief, semi-accidentally takes an entire town of people hostage. Explaining the concept of WandaVision to anyone not familiar with the expansive Marvel Cinematic Universe presents a bit of a challenge. Perhaps the even bigger challenge is then trying to communicate the way that the show so effectively becomes a truly emotional story. Over the course of nine episodes, WandaVision shares more about the two titular characters than the five movies that featured Elizabeth Olsen as Wanda Maximoff or the seven in whi...
WandaVision Dusts Off the Comics to Tease Vision’s Future
The following editorial is heavy on spoilers… “Previously On”, this week’s eighth episode of Disney+’s WandaVision, is enlightening in many ways. It explores the details of Wanda’s (Elizabeth Olsen) tormented past, re-writes the origin of her powers, and yet also tells the backstory of the villainous Agatha Harkness (Kathryn Hahn). By far the most interesting reveal, however, is the resurrected, colorless version of Vision (Paul Bettany), which is unveiled during the post-credits scene. Not only does this suggest an emotional series finale, it also has some interesting links to the comics that could hint at Vision’s future within the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). Vision being drained of all color is an unsettling sight, not just because of his cold appearance, but because it speaks to t...
What WandaVision’s “Very Special Episode” Reveal Means for the Marvel Cinematic Universe
The following editorial is heavy on spoilers… Previously On WandaVision… Though Disney+’s WandaVision has already carved a niche for itself as a risk-taking series unlike anything the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) has attempted before, the spinoff series’ most recent installment delivered a reveal in the final seconds of this week’s episode that completely redefines the possibilities in the MCU. “On a Very Special Episode…” — WandaVision’s longest outing yet with nearly double the runtime of the four prior episodes — saw Darcy Lewis (Kat Jenning), Jimmy Woo (Randall Park), and the newly-returned Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris) try to find a way in to Westview, the town that Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen) has turned into her own fever-dream version of classic sitcoms. With Monica’s...
Suburban Secrets Lurk in the First Trailer for WandaVision: Watch
WandaVision is set to become the first Marvel series to air on Disney+. Today, its first official trailer has arrived. Taking place after the events of Avengers: Endgame, the new TV series stars Elizabeth Olsen as Wanda Maximoff, a.k.a. the Scarlett Witch, and Paul Bettany as Vision in a sitcom-like manner à la I Love Lucy or The Brady Bunch. The program is said to be a “blend of classic television and the Marvel Cinematic Universe,” and follows “the two super-powered beings living idealized suburban lives” — that is, until they suspect that all is not what it seems (which makes sense since, ya know, Vision is dead). We see a bit of that mystery unravel in this first trailer. After a charming introduction to Wanda and Vision’s vanilla suburbia — filmed through a retro black-and-white ...
