NRT briefing
Marvel fans to meet Welsh villain - complete with Cardiff accent
Based on reporting by BBC News.
The Brief
Lauren Morais, an actress from Cardiff, will play the villain Lisa Molinari in the new Disney+ series VisionQuest, a spin-off from WandaVision. The show, which explores whether AI and humanity can coexist, stars Paul Bettany as Vision and James Spader as Ultron. Morais said getting the role was a "pinch me" moment and that she is "very proud" to introduce her Cardiff accent to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Speaking to Lucy Owen on BBC Radio Wales, Morais said she initially auditioned with an Essex accent, then tried northern and American accents in later rounds. During one reading, she decided to ask if the character could be from Cardiff, and the Marvel team agreed. She described the experience as a "dichotomy of worlds," noting she returned to her shift at a London cinema after her final Pinewood audition.
The character Lisa Molinari differs from the comic book version, known as Coat of Arms, who gains extra arms from a mystical coat. In VisionQuest, she uses a high-tech backpack with robotic arms. Morais said coordinating fight scenes required imagination, and Bettany advised her that committing to the scenes would make them look "really sick."
Morais is not the first Welsh character in the MCU; Welshpool appeared in Deadpool and Wolverine, and Kingsley Ben-Adir's Gravik in Secret Invasion was developed with a Cardiff accent.