Credit: Disney General EntertainmentThe superhero fatigue is hitting hard right now. Once the crown jewel of the box office, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has brought in smaller and smaller numbers as of late, with both Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023) and Thor: Love and Thunder (2022) both financially and critically underperforming.
It’s a similar story over on Disney+. Not only has Disney struggled to make the platform profitable, but the sheer number of Marvel – and, to a lesser extent, Star Wars – shows the service has put out over the past few years has made keeping up to date with the latest releases a chore, not a pleasure.
But that’s not to say there aren’t some gems in the Disney+ lineup. The first MCU show – WandaVision – remains a favorite, and Moon Knight, Ms. Marvel, and Hawkeye have impressed critics and MCU fans alike.
Now the platform hopes to add another gem to its collection with Wonder Man. No relation to Wonder Woman, Wonder Man is one of the oldest characters in Marvel Comics, and the alias of Simon Williams – a man with ionic powers, such as super strength, who starts out as an antagonist to the Avengers before later joining the team.
The character was supposed to have a tiny cameo in James Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2 (2017), where he was played by Nathan Fillion. However, his scene – which featured posters for the Simon Williams Film Festival, a reference to the comics where he is an actor – was later cut.
While we still don’t know how Marvel will adapt Wonder Man’s storyline, we do now have an exciting update: the series is officially in production!
The series stars Yahya Abdul Mateen II, who’s jumped ship from the DC Universe where he played Black Manta in Aquaman (2018) and its upcoming sequel to take on the role of Wonder Man. He’ll be joined by Ben Kingsley, who debuted as washed-up actor Trevor Slattery in Iron Man 3 (2013) before returning in Shang-Chi and the Legend of Ten Rings (2021). Demetrius Grosse has also been cast as the villain Grim Reaper.
Destin Daniel Cretton – who also directed Shang-Chi and the Legend of Ten Rings – confirmed that production had begun by posting a picture on his Instagram and tagging Brett Pawlak. The latter will serve as Wonder Man‘s director of photography, while Cretton will produce and direct multiple episodes.
Wonder Man may have started filming, but we’ll have to wait a while to see the final product. The series is scheduled to air sometime between late-2023 and mid-2024 – although, considering all the Marvel Disney+ delays lately, we recommend taking that release date with a grain of salt.