Paul Bettany Thought Marvel Was Firing Him When He Got WandaVision Pitch

The future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe will stretch to the small screen when the new streaming service Disney+ launches, though the shows won't begin airing on the service until 2020. But fans are already hyped up to see the continued adventures of Scarlet Witch, as well as the supposed resurrection of her synthetic boyfriend Vision. The new series WandaVision, set to debut in 2021, is set to be one of the stranger stories from Marvel Studios as it is being pitched as part action-adventure, and part sitcom inspired by The Dick Van Dyke Show.

Vision actor Paul Bettany spoke with MTV News and was asked about his return from the dead, and he provided a surprising response when he revealed he thought he was going to be fired from the MCU.

"Ah, well, through the genius of Marvel and Kevin Feige, there's an answer to that but it's not one that I can give you," Bettany said.

His co-star Elizabeth Olsen added, "But it's one that you will learn when you watch our show!"

Bettany added that he and Olsen were both stunned by the story when they came in for the pitch.

"Oh, I don't think that myself or Lizzie have ever been more surprised when Kevin pitched the idea to us. A and One, I thought I was being brought in to be fired; B and Two, I thought they were gonna let me down, you know, like, 'Listen, Paul, we love you, but...' And instead what he did was pitch this idea for a sort of six hour movie that I would never in a million years, which is why he's the one earning the really big bucks, have thought of. And it's so avant-garde and weird and messed up and then moves seamlessly into more familiar territory. But the place that it starts is so odd."

Series showrunners Matt Shakman and Jac Schaeffer also spoke about the strangeness of WandaVision, teasing some of their plans for the new series.

"They are such an unusual pairing, right? He's [Vision] not human but he's more human than anyone, maybe," Shakman reflects. "He always has the best, most wise things to say. He completely sees the world for what it is. She's gone through so much trauma. She's lost her brother, she's an orphan, and all these different things have happened to her. I think we've all been quite taken by that union. It's [WandaVision] is the exploration of that bizarre, strange, completely right kind of love and it's about watching them explore their relationship and growing it."

WandaVision is set to debut on Disney+ sometime in 2021, leading to the Scarlet Witch's role in the upcoming film Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.