It looks like Wanda's got a little competition for Vision's affections because controversial director Joss Whedon was also apparently a little obsessed with the beloved Marvel hero — or rather, a certain part of him (and we don't mean the Mind Stone, either).
During a recent appearance on Conan O'Brien's late-night talk show in early March, Paul Bettany, the 49-year-old British actor who brought Vision to life in numerous Marvel Cinematic Universe movies and most recently in Disney+'s smash hit series WandaVision, revealed that the Buffy the Vampire Slayer creator (who wrote and directed the first two Avengers films and is currently wrapped up in allegations of on-set abuse and misconduct from numerous actors and other industry professionals) really, really, really wanted Vision's genitals to be included in 2015's Avengers: Age of Ultron.
"Joss Whedon was manning the ship at that point. He was wondering, 'Vision’s gonna be born, we’re gonna see him born, and I mean ostensibly naked. He has to have a penis, right? I mean, cause he’s naked and he’s being born,'" Bettany revealed of Whedon.
He continued:
"Everybody there, Louis D’Esposito, Kevin Feige, everybody was like, 'I’m not sure that’s such a great idea for Vision for him, to sort of, rise up out of the crypt, as it were with a, you know, a penis.' And he said, 'I need, I need him to, I need to see his penis.'"
Bettany then went on to share how, upon Whedon's insistence, artists were charged with the task of helping the Age of Ultron crew picture what Vision (and his member) would look like.
"Artists were sent away to sort of do all of these renderings of Vision being born with a penis," he recalled. "They put them all up on this huge wall at Marvel Studios and they invited Joss in, and Joss stood in front of this huge wall and went, 'Never have I been more sure that I don’t need to see Vision with a penis.'"
Ultimately, the idea of Vision's junk was cut (no pun intended) from the theatrical release of Age of Ultron. And it was probably for the better...
Watch Paul Bettany's interview with Conan O'Brien in the video below!
