Wizard World Chicago: Paul Bettany Says AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR and AVENGERS 4 Production Effort Are as Big as a Small Town

CHICAGO, Ill. -- While attending Chicago Wizard World, I got the chance to see the one and only Paul Bettany! Bettany has had a huge role in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and so far has been in IRON MAN, IRON MAN 2, THE AVENGERS, IRON MAN 3, AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON and CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR. Coming up, he will soon be in both the upcoming Avengers films! He started off by playing J.A.R.V.I.S. (Just a Rather Very Intelligent System), who was a computer system designed by Tony Stark that later came to life as Vision; also played by Bettany.

Acknowledging Bettany has played two very different roles in the MCU, a fan asked which one was his favorite. Bettany responds with, “I’m loving playing Vision. It was fun being Jarvis, but it’s really nice not being anybody’s servant anymore.” Another fan tells Bettany he thinks one of the coolest parts of the MCU was when the Vision lifted Thor’s hammer, Mjölnir. The fan then said he was upset Vision didn’t get to keep the hammer so he offered Bettany a custom made Mjölnir with the Avengers Vision logo on the hammer. Bettany gracefully accepts and admired the hammer. He said it was heavier than the real thing and thanks the fan as he takes the hammer back up to the stage. 

Photo by James Philbrick

Bettany was asked if he had any indication he would become Vision when he accepted the role of Jarvis. He responds with, “Nothing at all, no. I got a phone call from Jon Favreau and he said, 'Listen, I’m making this movie and I have a character for a computer, and he has to have no personality at all so I thought of you.' It made me laugh so hard that I said, 'Yeah, sure.' I really didn’t know what I was getting myself into and then I signed a contract. I never met anybody. I mean, literally, I was in a room in New York City in what they call an ISDM line and they’re all in Los Angeles and I would work for like an hour and then they’d give me a big bag of cash and I’d go home. It’s hard finding what the job is in this job! So that was going well and I think I just made people laugh and they started hatching this plan for me to be physically on set. It’s been a nightmare. No, it’s been great!” 

It was then brought up how Bettany’s wife, Jennifer Connelly, who voiced Peter Parker's suit A.I. Karen, in SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING, Bettany said, “It was Kevin Feige’s idea. He rung me up and was like, 'Don’t you think it would be like the most meta thing in the world?' and I was like, 'Yeah I do.' Then I looked up what meta means. I googled meta and was like, 'Yeah, I guess he’s right!'" 

Photo by James Philbrick

Afterwards, Bettany revealed if he could play a Marvel super villain he would play Thanos. Bettany explains, “My mate [Josh Brolin] is having a ball playing Thanos right now, how awesome is that? Thanos is awesome. I would choose Thanos.” He then says his favorite DC superhhero is Batman and his favorite DC villain is the Joker. Bettany said, “Heath’s portray of the Joker was magnificent. He caught this sort of punk chaos of it all brilliantly.”

Speaking of Heath Ledger, an audience member wanted to know what it was like working with Ledger. Bettany’s response was, “Heath was just a ray of sunshine, he really was. He loved to have fun. Don’t believe all the nonsense about the darkness. I never saw it, not once. He was just someone who didn’t know when to stop having fun and I miss him. He was so alive; it’s really hard work to imagine him dead, even today. He’s the most, one of the most alive people I ever meet, so it’s very difficult to just think… It’s hard for me to imagine that…” Bettany trails off and takes a few seconds before answering the next question. 

Ledger was an Australian actor and director who was most known for his role as The Joker from Christopher Nolan’s THE DARK KNIGHT. Unfortunately, Ledger tragically passed away in 2008 while THE DARK KNIGHT was in the editing process. That didn’t stop Ledger from winning the 2009 Supporting Actor Oscar at the Academy Awards. After his death many rumors arose, saying Ledger’s dedication to the role drove him to insanity, which ultimately lead to his death. Although numerous people, including Christian Bale and Terry Gilliam, proved this to be incorrect, the false rumor is still widely believed. 

“It’s the biggest production I’ve ever been on, ever. I mean, it’s just HUGE." -- Paul Bettany teasing how big the production effort is for AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR and AVENGERS 4

With AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR finished filming and AVENGERS 4 now beginning principle photography, fans were eager to get any information about the two biggest Marvel Studios movies to date. When asked about the films Bettany said he couldn’t talk about it because, “I would get shot, then fired.” However, he was able to say Scarlet Witch and Vision’s relationship will be further explored in the upcoming movies. He expressed how their relationship is the most exiting plot line for their characters so far. 

Bettany, then, goes on to talk about filming the upcoming Avengers films. He revealed he will start filming AVENGERS 4 in September and said, “It’s the biggest production I’ve ever been on, ever. I mean, it’s just HUGE." Bettany later said, “The Marvel films, and especially these two movies that we’re making at the moment, I’ve never seen anything like it in my life. I get up very early in the morning to go get my makeup on. It’s dawn and we’re shooting in the countryside and I’m looking down into this valley and there’s this town and it’s not a town it’s just the trailers. It’s the biggest thing I’ve ever seen as an actor.” 

Unfortunately, that was all he could say about either of the upcoming Avengers movie, but it certainly left the audience excited to see what Marvel has in store for them.

Written by James Philbrick -- Click here to read James' posts