Paul Bettany Had A Funny 3-Word Response When Asked What He Wants To See Out Of The MCU Next

White Vision in WandaVision's finale
(Image credit: Disney)

Most Marvel Cinematic Universe fans are excited for 2026 as it will see two upcoming Marvel movie releases in the form of Spider-Man: Brand New Day and Avengers: Doomsday. However, there is also a small screen release that could also be something that fans won’t want to miss: the return of Paul Bettany as Vision in Vision Quest on Disney+.

We’ll finally catch up with the character next year in a new series. We don’t know a lot about what the future holds for Vision in the MCU, but Paul Bettany recently joked about what he hopes the future holds for him: a lot of money. Appearing over the weekend at L.A. Comic Con (via Tribune), Bettany was asked what he personally hoped to see in the next phase of the MCU, the actor quipped…

A massive paycheck

Bettany is having some fun, but at the same time, there’s probably more than a bit of honesty there. Movies that are expected to make a lot of money tend to pay the most money. And while actors may not make the money the most important part of any decision when choosing where to work, it would be silly to pretend it’s not part of the equation.

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Disney+: from $9.99 a month w/ ad-supported plan
Disney+ is the home for the MCU, including Paul Bettany's tenure as Vision. Plans start at $9.99 a month for its new ad-supported plan. Go ad-free and pay $15.99 a month or save 16% and pre-pay $159.99 for a year.

Bettany is hardly the first to say that one of the perks of working in the MCU is the money. Often getting paid a lot to make blockbusters is part of what allows many actors to afford to go on to make other films that they may be more passionate about, but that don’t always pay as well.

The last we saw of Vision in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the reconstituted all-white body of Vision, with all of his memories infused by Wanda’s magic, went flying off into the sky at the end of WandaVision. While we know a few details about the new show’s plot, including that Todd Stashwick will play an assassin hunting Vision, Bettany did reveal some of the themes that the series will deal with, saying…

It’s about intergenerational trauma… fathers and sons and denial of pain and denial of your own truth and coming to terms with who and what you are.

It may seem a little odd for Vision, a character that was originally constructed and built from various technological components, to have a story about intergenerational trauma and the relationships between fathers and sons. But this description actually does give us a bit of insight into how a key character of Vision Quest will fit into the story.

James Spader is set to return to the MCU in Vision Quest, reprising his role as Ultron for the first time since Avengers: Age of Ultron. While we may not know how that will work, since Ultron was presumed destroyed at the end of the film, at the hands of Vision himself, this does give us some explanation as to why the character will return, as Ultron is the closest thing to a father Vision has.

Paul Bettany wasn’t one of the chairs that we saw as part of the massive Avengers: Doomsday cast reveal, but expectations are Vision Quest will run before the release of Doomsday, and so the two stories connecting are certainly possible. If it happens, it surely means more big paychecks for Bettany.

Dirk Libbey
Content Producer/Theme Park Beat

CinemaBlend’s resident theme park junkie and amateur Disney historian, Dirk began writing for CinemaBlend as a freelancer in 2015 before joining the site full-time in 2018. He has previously held positions as a Staff Writer and Games Editor, but has more recently transformed his true passion into his job as the head of the site's Theme Park section. He has previously done freelance work for various gaming and technology sites. Prior to starting his second career as a writer he worked for 12 years in sales for various companies within the consumer electronics industry. He has a degree in political science from the University of California, Davis.  Is an armchair Imagineer, Epcot Stan, Future Club 33 Member.

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