You may not know it, but Paul Bettany has been a part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe since its inception with 2008’s Iron Man.  The actor is the voice of J.A.R.V.I.S., Tony Stark’s personalized computer system, but for writer/director Joss Whedon’s highly anticipated sequel The Avengers: Age of Ultron, Bettany may be getting a major promotion in the form of a live-action role.  Should this rumor pan out it could have major repercussions for the superhero follow-up, so we’ll leave all the details after the jump for those wary of spoilers.  Read on after the jump.

[Update: Variety has confirmed the news that Bettany will indeed be playing comics favorite The Vision in the Avengers sequel.]

The folks over at the Daily Mail are reporting that Bettany will be playing comics character The Vision in The Avengers: Age of Ultron.  The character is an android and many previously speculated that Clark Gregg’s Agent Coulson would fill this role following his death in the first Avengers, but that obviously didn’t come to pass as he’s alive and well on ABC’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.  The Vision, as it turns out, was created in comics lore by Ultron, an antagonistic robot himself.  Some wondered whether Ultron would actually turn out to be a scorned J.A.R.V.I.S. in the Avengers sequel, but again that rumor was dispelled when James Spader signed on to play the character.

So, if this rumor does indeed pan out, it’s possible that Bettany may not be switching characters after all.  It would make sense if J.A.R.V.I.S. somehow came under the control of Ultron and was turned into The Vision, which would be where Bettany’s live-action form would come into play.  It's also possible that there will be no connection at all between J.A.R.V.I.S. and The Vision.  Time will tell, and we’ll all find out for sure when The Avengers: Age of Ultron opens in theaters on May 1, 2015.