Paul Bettany Didn't Think 'Kooky' WandaVision Would Be a Hit: 'It's Been Really Extraordinary'

Warner Bros.

Paul Bettany is reflecting on the success of WandaVision.

While appearing virtually as a guest on The Ellen DeGeneres Show on Thursday, the 49-year-old actor admitted that he didn't think that Marvel's Disney+ series would ever be as popular as it has become.

"We thought that we were going to be sort of the kooky cousin in the Marvel universe, and it's been really extraordinary," Bettany, who stars as all-powerful android Vision in the series, told host Ellen DeGeneres.

The actor added that he is grateful for the fans of the series, who made WandaVision "this phenomenon and I am so thankful for that," before also noting the journey has been an "incredible ride."

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Disney+ Paul Bettany and Elizabeth Olsen in WandaVision

WandaVision follows Elizabeth Olsen's Wanda Maximoff and her fellow Avenger beau, Bettany's Vision, exploring life as a married couple in suburbia, but told via classic TV sitcom tropes across several decades.

"It sounds so gimmicky, but it is actually part of the storytelling," Olsen previously told PEOPLE of the limited series, which airs its season finale on Friday. "Why it happens is answered within the show."

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The premise of Marvel's series is the franchise's most unique yet — and that's precisely why Olsen, 32, jumped at the chance to reprise her superhero character, whose last cinematic appearance was in 2019's Avengers: Endgame.

"I always played the sincerity of the film, while everyone else got to have all the fun, jokey stuff," Olsen added of Wanda, who was first introduced in 2015's Avengers: Age of Ultron. "But this show gives us the time to know her better and see the levity and love in her."

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The first 2 episodes of WandaVision drop on Disney+ tomorrow

Earlier this week, WandaVision director Matt Shakman chatted with Entertainment Weekly about the series' upcoming finale, discussing the "inevitable" ending.

Sharing that he hopes fans "feel like the journey was satisfying for them," Shakman, 45, continued, "I know there are so many theories out there; there will be a lot of people who will no doubt be disappointed by one theory or another."

"But we're always telling this story about Wanda dealing with grief and learning how to accept that loss, and hopefully people will find that the finale is surprising but also satisfying, and that it feels inevitable because it's the same story they've been watching the whole time," he added.

The season one finale of WandaVision will debut on Disney+ on Friday, March 5th.