Destin Daniel Cretton has been given the keys to the MCU kingdom in some respects, as he has been entrusted with the star studded “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” after the smashing success of “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings”. On the TV side, Cretton also has a development dealt with Marvel Studios and Onyx Collective… which is where “Wonder Man” comes in.
The show has been bounced around in development for years and seen heavy production delays amid the WGA and SAG AFTRA strikes, before finally setting a release window for December of 2025. Hulu and Disney+ recently released a promotional video that had multiple teaser for a handful of upcoming series, which included a brief sequence from the next entry into the MCU’s phase 6. Warning, below there are spoilers for “Wonder Man” from Marvel Television and Disney+.
The show has been bounced around in development for years and seen heavy production delays amid the WGA and SAG AFTRA strikes, before finally setting a release window for December of 2025.”
The teaser tells us a few essential things. First, that Yahya Abdul-Mateen II plays Simon Williams, an actor who’s not above doing auditions. Then we get a cutaway to MCU old timer washed up actorTrevor Slattery, played by Sir Ben Kingsley, who has seemingly grown into a wiser man than when we first met him in Iron Man 3. This project will mark the second time director Cretton and Kingsley have worked together in Marvel’s post ‘Endgame’ landscape (since ‘Shang-Chi’). The series was first announced as ten episodes but will now consist of eight 20-40 minute installments and see Cretton act as a Co-Show runner, along with Andrew Guest from “Hawkeye”. There are also some brief shots of Williams or Wonder Man displaying his immense power, appearing to take down an i=entire building during some kind of emotional outburst. Beyond that, we haven’t been given too many glimpses into the world of “Wonder Man”, but we do know the setting is unique to the MCU – current day Hollywood.
Marvel Studios Head of Streaming Brad Winderbaum described the sereis as a “two-handler” between the characters of Simon Williams (Abdul-Mateen) and Trevor Slattery (Kingsley), who are both actors. He would also call the show a “love letter to Hollywood….” Which may be just what the MCU needs, in light of the critical success of Seth Rogen’s series, “The Studio”.
After the MCU’s fanbase has been faltering and the less than cosmic box office take from ‘Fantastic Four’, the question is, will the fans think that “Wonder Man” is worth it? Any fans of Abdul-Mateen’s work as Dr. Manhattan in “Watchmen”have seen the actor pull off a complex role, but is Simon WIlliams the story that Marvel needs to tell right now? Abdul-Mateen showed up at the ‘Fantastic Four’ premiere in character as Wonder Man, which tells us that the show isn’t taking itself too seriously, which is Linley a good thing. We love the ever expanding MCU and support all the projects that come out, but the average fan does seem to have franchise fatigue, so hopefully the series stands alone on it’s own story and only compliments the existing 500 hours of content directly tied to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Outside of Animated projects, the MCU doesn’t have a lot of other material until “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” and “Avengers: Doomsday” in July and December 2026, respectively. We will of course. Get “Daredevil: Born Again” season 2 in March of 2026 and “Vision Quest” along with Jon Bernthal’s ‘Punisher’ special presentation at some point next year as well. Three seasons of television, 1 special and 2 movies between now and next December does not seem overwhelming, but we binge for a living. If “Wonder Man” is not done well, that could erode fans patience for the other TV projects coming out in 2026. ‘Spider-Man’ and ‘Avengers’ are guaranteed to draw major crowds at least for the opening weekend, but beyond that, Marvel has seen they are not guaranteed a billion dollar payday with any IP they choose.
The series has also cast Ed Harris as Williams’ Hollywood agent, Demetrius Grosse as Eric Williams, Simon’s brother/super villain from the comics named Grim Reaper and Arian Moayed will also reprise his MCU role as Damage Control Agent P. Cleary. Josh Gad, Byron Bowers are also confirmed for undisclosed roles. The appearance of Gad and Browers tells us that this show will likely be embracing comedy, hopefully similar to the style of “The Studio”. Diehard fans remember when Nathan Fillion appeared in some deleted scenes as Simon Williams, which Gunn considers canon, but there’s no plans for Fillion to appear in the upcoming series beyond a possible Easter Egg. Cretton has directed the first 2 episodes and so far there has been no news on the exact release dates for each episode.
The series will. Be released under the “Marvel Spotlight” banner, the second series since “Echo” which according to the Spotlight mission guarantees the show to be more character driven.
What do you think? Where will “Wonder Man” land in a Marvel Studios ranking list? Will it be the fresh new show that the brand needs like “WandaVision” when it first dropped? Are fans too far gone to care about a brand new character? Will Sir Ben Kingsley’s charisma blend the right way with Yahya Abdul-Mateen II’s massive emotional range? Will Wonder Man be able to contain his powers? How does the Grim Reaper fit into all of this?
Let us know your thoughts in the comments below
