WONDER MAN

A JOKE ON THE SHANG-CHI SET

HOW WONDER MAN WAS MADE

The idea began in 2021, when Destin Daniel Cretton and executive producer Jonathan Schwartz joked about a Trevor Slattery series while making Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. Wonder Man was revealed to be in development in June 2022 with Andrew Guest as head writer and Cretton expected to direct. Kingsley’s return was revealed in August 2022, and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II was then cast as Simon Williams. Guest was named showrunner in October 2023.

Filming had begun by 5 April 2023 in Los Angeles under the working title Callback, and production shut down by the end of May 2023 during the Writers Guild of America strike, with about half of the series filmed. Production resumed by early January 2024. Lighting technician J.C. “Spike” Osorio died after a fall from the rafters at Radford Studio Center, and Joel P. West composed the score. Brad Winderbaum said the series had “one of the lowest, if not the lowest” budgets of Marvel Studios’ television series.

“the actor who is unknown, who is talented and passionate and just needs a break”

Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, January 2026

ACTORS PLAYING ACTORS

WHO IS IN THE CAST

In the MCU, superpowered people are barred from Hollywood by a rule known as the Doorman Clause. Simon, who secretly has powers, befriends Trevor as both chase roles in a remake of the in-universe film Wonder Man.

Yahya Abdul-Mateen II plays Simon Williams, with Ben Kingsley as Trevor Slattery, X Mayo as Simon’s agent Janelle Jackson, Zlatko Burić as the director Von Kovak, Arian Moayed as Department of Damage Control agent P. Cleary and Byron Bowers as DeMarr Davis, the Doorman. Josh Gad and Joe Pantoliano play fictional versions of themselves.

ALL EIGHT AT ONCE

HOW THE SERIES WAS RECEIVED

All eight episodes, from “Matinee” to “Yucca Valley”, were released on 27 January 2026, with runtimes from 26 to 36 minutes. The series had been scheduled for December 2025 before moving to January 2026, and it was released under the Marvel Spotlight banner. Nielsen recorded 618 million minutes of viewing in its first week, making it the eighth most-streamed original series that week.

Rotten Tomatoes lists a 91% critics’ score from 114 reviews and an 87% audience score, and its consensus praises Abdul-Mateen’s “sly performance alongside an equally wonderful Ben Kingsley.” Metacritic gives it 75 from 31 critics and a user score of 6.6. Cheryl Eddy of Gizmodo wrote that the in-universe film “was the perfect fodder for the series’ witty exploration of Hollywood’s superhero-industrial complex.”

THE REWATCH

AN EMMY NOMINATION AND A CANCELLED SECOND SEASON

The series received five nominations and no wins, including Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series at the Primetime Emmy Awards for Abdul-Mateen. It was renewed for a second season in March 2026 and cancelled that July, and Guest said Disney and Marvel had decided the season “didn’t make sense for them.”

In the Marvel Marathon it sits in the MCU release order guide between The Fantastic Four: First Steps and Daredevil: Born Again Season 2. It sits between Ironheart and Daredevil: Born Again Season 2 in the MCU series order and Marvel TV shows in order guides. In the MCU timeline guide it comes between Thunderbolts* and Daredevil: Born Again Season 2.