Few film franchises have proved as dominant as the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and Avengers: Infinity War actor Paul Bettany thinks he knows the secret behind its box-office fortunes.
“I think the success of the Marvel films comes from the fact that they’re made by fans,” the Vision actor said during a set visit attended by Screen Rant. “They really love those characters. When I first came out dressed as Vision, [Marvel Studios President] Kevin Feige nearly cried. I didn’t grow up reading comics but they make you fall in love with your character. They really do. Their love for these stories is really infectious and you become really invested, and there’s a lot of invested people beyond the financials of it all.”
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Bettany said he believes the shared love for the source material is what makes audiences more receptive to the changes sometimes necessary to adaptation. “They really want to do a good job,” he continued. “I think fans really trust that if they bend things that they’re in safe hands — that the story is in safe hands because I guarantee you it’s made by geeks. This movie is made by geeks. They love them, they feel it when they’re talking about it.”
The Marvel (Studios) Method has resulted in five films crossing the $1 billion milestone, the most recent entry being Black Panther. The Ryan Coogler production just overtook The Avengers to become the highest-grossing superhero film ever domestically.
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Directed by Joe and Anthony Russo, Avengers: Infinity War stars Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Jeremy Renner, Scarlett Johansson, Paul Bettany, Anthony Mackie, Paul Rudd, Elizabeth Olsen, Tom Holland, Benedict Cumberbatch, Chadwick Boseman, Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Bradley Cooper, Vin Diesel, Tom Hiddleston, Peter Dinklage and Josh Brolin. The superhero ensemble hits theaters on April 27.