A fresh Marvel series has arrived, but the show viewers are getting is different from the one originally planned. Yahya Abdul-Mateen II stars as Simon Williams, also known as Wonder Man, in the new Disney+ series that started streaming on January 27, 2026. However, the path to bringing Wonder Man to screens was an unusual one, sparked by a creative partnership and the merging of two separate ideas.
The new series is a Marvel Spotlight show, a banner for more grounded, character-driven stories. It follows Simon Williams, a Hollywood actor who already has superpowers and is trying to land the lead role in a movie remake of a classic superhero film called Wonder Man. He must hide his abilities from an industry that forbids powered actors and from the government’s Department of Damage Control (DODC), which is hunting him.
How Two Different Ideas Became One Show
The partnership at the center of Wonder Man almost didn’t happen. The series was born from the combination of two separate Marvel projects.
The initial idea came from director Destin Daniel Cretton and actor Ben Kingsley. The two enjoyed working together on the set of 2021’s Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings and wanted to develop a new project. They began brainstorming a show focused on Kingsley’s character, Trevor Slattery.
Separately, Marvel was developing a project about the superhero Wonder Man. At some point, Marvel decided to blend these two concepts. Showrunner Andrew Guest explained that when he joined, the project was already designed as a “two-hander,” a story built around the duo of Simon Williams and Trevor Slattery.
“This show started with Destin and Sir Ben on the set of Shang-Chi, loving working together and wanting to do a show together,” Guest said. “Then it sort of mixed with another project at Marvel, about Wonder Man.”
Cretton and Kingsley worked closely to shape Slattery’s story for the new series. Cretton even recorded a long interview with Kingsley discussing the actor’s philosophy and ideas for Trevor’s backstory. Elements from that conversation, like Slattery’s desire to return to Los Angeles to make his mother proud, made it into the final show.
Who Is Simon Williams?
For the series, the classic comic book origin of Simon Williams has been changed. In the source material, Williams is a businessman who gains ionic powers from the villain Baron Zemo and is forced to infiltrate the Avengers. The MCU version is different.
In this adaptation, Simon is a struggling actor who has possessed his powers since childhood. The series does not focus on a traditional accident or experiment that gave him his abilities. When asked if this makes Simon a mutant in the MCU, similar to Ms. Marvel, the creators played coy.
“I don’t know,” both Guest and Cretton said to the mutant question. Guest added, “It’s a good question, thoughโฆ”
Yahya Abdul-Mateen II describes his character as “a sensitive soul” who sees “heroic acting” as his goal, rather than becoming a traditional costumed superhero.
The Return of Trevor Slattery
Ben Kingsley reprises his role as the luckless actor Trevor Slattery, a character who has had a wild journey through the MCU. He first appeared as the fake terrorist The Mandarin in 2013’s Iron Man 3. He was later kidnapped by the real Mandarin, Wenwu, in Shang-Chi, serving as a court jester to save his life.
Kingsley says the Wonder Man version of Trevor shows the character in recovery. “When we saw him earlier, he was still recovering from drugs and alcoholโฆ Trevor recovering is what you see in Wonder Man,” the actor stated. In the series, Slattery is back in Los Angeles, trying to rebuild his acting career and forming an unexpected friendship with Simon Williams.
The Show’s Take on “Superhero Fatigue”
Wonder Man tackles the concept of superhero fatigue head-on, both in its story and marketing. The plot involves a filmmaker trying to make a prestigious superhero movie remake in an era when audiences are tired of the genre.
Showrunner Andrew Guest confirmed that Marvel was open to this meta-commentary. “From the beginning, Marvel was sort of open to poking fun at themselves, and they wanted to do a show that felt different,” he said. The series aims to be a satirical “love letter to Hollywood” that offers a peek behind the curtain of the entertainment industry.
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What to Know Before Watching
The series is designed to be enjoyed with minimal homework, but a few key pieces of MCU history provide helpful context.
First, the Department of Damage Control (DODC) is the main antagonistic force. This government agency, first seen cleaning up after battles in Spider-Man: Homecoming, has evolved into an aggressive organization that hunts and regulates people with powers, as seen in Ms. Marvel and She-Hulk. They are pursuing Simon Williams simply for having abilities.
Second, while the Sokovia Accords from Captain America: Civil War are no longer active, public trust in superheroes is low. This is due to events like the Skrull invasion shown in Secret Invasion, which has made ordinary people fearful of powered individuals.
All eight episodes of Wonder Man are now available for streaming exclusively on Disney+.
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