How Vision Is Able To Look Human In Avengers: Infinity War

Paul Bettany is Vision

Needless to say, there will be spoilers in this article, so stop reading now if you want to go into Avengers: Infinity War knowing nothing.

The Avengers: Infinity War trailers (if you dared to watch them) have been peppered by surprises. Spider-Man (Tom Holland) shows up in New York wearing the Iron Spider suit Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) tried to give him at the end of Homecoming. Captain America (Chris Evans) has a beard. And Thor (Chris Hemsworth) lands on a ship piloted by the Guardians of the Galaxy. Changes are afoot in the MCU. Like the fact that Vision (Paul Bettany) is able to look human in this upcoming movie. That's a switch. On the Atlanta set of Joe and Anthony Russo's pending blockbuster, we asked Bettany how Vision is able to masquerade as a human and participate in undercover missions with Cap, and the actor explained:

Well, you either travel to different Mardi Gras around the world. Or Halloween, you're golden -- Halloween, it's his night out. Or you discover the ability to change your appearance with nano-technology.

According to Nano.gov, nanotechnology involves "the ability to see and to control individual atoms and molecules." Vision, according to Paul Bettany, likely figures out a way to control molecules to alter his appearance and make himself look like... well, like Paul Bettany. We get that amazing shot, above, of Vision looking human, though Mind Stone is still visible in his forehead. And that makes Vision a target.

As we continued to discuss Avengers: Infinity War with Paul Bettany and his on-screen partner, Elizabeth Olsen, they confirmed that the Mind Stone makes Vision a victim of Thanos and his Black Order. We saw, in the same trailers, a shot of the Black Order trying to pluck the Stone from Vision's head. The threat of Thanos, and the mission for Vision to feel more human, make Infinity War more important -- dramatically -- in Olsen's mind. They said:

Olsen: This is definitely the most emotional arc I've done in an Avengers film, that's for sure. Because when we're talking about Vision becoming human, we're talking about their relationship, and it's a pretty grounded arc.Bettany: And significant. [Laughs] Yeah, I think it is the most emotional. Also, the cost and the danger that we're all facing becomes more important than certain beef that people had in the past, because it's so desperate. The point of the Avengers, and by extension mankind, it's fraught with danger. So I think old grudges [from Civil War] are buried and put off until next time.

From the looks of the most recent Avengers: Infinity War trailer, the Avengers are going to bring Vision to Wakanda to ask for Black Panther's help in protecting the two Stones that they are aware of:

We'll see how it all plays out when the movie opens in theaters on April 27. Our set visit coverage from Atlanta will continue this week. Also, all of our Avengers: Infinity War set coverage can be found here. And you can bookmark our Upcoming Marvel Movies guide to stay up to date on all of the future happenings in the MCU.

Sean O'Connell
Managing Editor

Sean O’Connell is a journalist and CinemaBlend’s Managing Editor. Having been with the site since 2011, Sean interviewed myriad directors, actors and producers, and created ReelBlend, which he proudly cohosts with Jake Hamilton and Kevin McCarthy. And he's the author of RELEASE THE SNYDER CUT, the Spider-Man history book WITH GREAT POWER, and an upcoming book about Bruce Willis.