Joss Whedon wanted Vision to be anatomically correct in Avengers: Age of Ultron

Vision (Paul Bettany) has always been a bit of an also-ran hero in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Sure, he’s hugely powerful and intelligent, but when you go see an Avengers movie, you’re usually more interested in seeing the likes of Iron Man, Captain America, or Black Widow…and Vision is also there.

That’s changing with WandaVision, airing now on Disney+. We’re learning more about Vision and Elizabeth Olsen’s Wanda Maximoff than ever before, and Bettany is out there doing press rounds serving up all kinds of interesting behind-the-scenes tea.

For example, did you know that Avengers: Age of Ultron director Joss Whedon really wanted Vision to have a penis during his first scene? Because he did. “I know Joss Whedon apparently really, really wanted the rendition of him, when Vision first is born, before he was clothed, he was like ‘He’s gotta have a penis,'” Bettany said on the Lights Camera Barstool podcast. “And everyone — Kevin [Feige], Louis [D’Esposito], I mean everybody was like, ‘I don’t know, Joss…I mean…I’m not sure.'”

But Whedon would not be deterred, responding with, “He has to have a penis. I want to see some drawings of penises.”

I’m picturing an awkward day on set.

Of course, as we all know, we did not end up seeing Vision’s equipment, as Whedon eventually soured on the idea. “Actually, somewhere is the rendition of Vision’s birth with these penises and they put them all up on the wall,” Bettany continued. “And they all went in and they sat down and Joss went, ‘Yeah, I’m 100-percent wrong, I don’t need to see any of these.”

Yep, Vision is serving pure Ken Doll in that scene:

WandaVision will change the way we look at the MCU

I don’t know what that means exactly for Vision and Wanda’s life in creepy sitcom suburbia on WandaVision, but maybe we’ll find out. At the least, Bettany teased that there are some big revelations coming soon. “I don’t want to give too much away about the future episodes, but I will tell you this: there were more special effects requirements for our TV show than there were for Endgame,” he said. “There are some difficult and expensive things…and some exhausting things.”

That is surprising to hear given how much of the show so far has been pared down to better fit the sitcom gimmick, but WandaVision is nothing if not surprising. It sounds like things will keep turning in new directions in the fourth episode, dropping this Friday. “It’s really bonkers,” Bettany said. “As you can see, more and more things are starting to encroach into this reality that they’re all living in. Wanda gets bothered by those things; she’s really disturbed by them and Vision is starting to suspect that there is some need for some sort of investigation into exactly what on Earth is going on in this town … Episode 3 is very definitive, the end of it, where you really understand that the other world is right outside this world and they’re very aware that something is wrong in this place.”

"It’s not an arbitrary reason that we’re in all of these sitcoms. There’s a big payoff where you go, ‘Ohhh, ok. Now I get it.’ It’s a satisfying thing … I think they’re gonna be massively surprised by the end of this show … They’re gonna look at the MCU in a whole new light and also, have a much deeper understanding about what direction it’s moving in. I would also say that so many things get leaked and people find out about certain things, but there’s this thing that’s been keep completely under wraps that happens and I have worked with this actor that I have always wanted to work with. We have fireworks together, the scenes are great, and I think people will be really excited. I’ve always wanted to work with this guy and the scenes are pretty intense."

He’s setting a high bar here, but if anyone can hit it, it’s Marvel. “I think they’re going to be massively surprised by the end of the show,” Bettany finished. “I really think people are going to be like, ‘Oh my God!’ And they’re going to look at the MCU in a whole new light, and also have a much deeper understanding of what direction it’s moving.”

WandaVision continues this Friday.

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h/t SyFy Wire, ComicBook.com