Wonder Man (miniseries)
Wonder Man is an American television miniseries created by Destin Daniel Cretton and Andrew Guest for the streaming service Disney+, based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name. It is the 17th television series in the Marvel Cinematic Universe produced by Marvel Studios, via its Marvel Television label, sharing continuity with the films of the franchise. Guest served as showrunner. The series follows actors Simon Williams and Trevor Slattery as they try to land roles in a remake of the film Wonder Man.
Yahya Abdul-Mateen II stars as Simon Williams, alongside X Mayo, Zlatko Burić, Ben Kingsley, Arian Moayed, Joe Pantoliano, Byron Bowers, and Josh Gad. In December 2021, Cretton signed an overall deal with Marvel Studios to create television series for Disney+, with a comedy series already in development at that point. The series was revealed to be centered on Wonder Man in June 2022, with Guest involved and Cretton confirmed to be directing episodes. Abdul-Mateen joined the cast that October, with Stella Meghie and James Ponsoldt set to also direct in February 2023. Filming began in early April 2023 in Los Angeles, before production was shut down in late May due to the 2023 Writers Guild of America strike. Filming resumed by early January 2024 and concluded by that April. The series was officially revealed in October 2024.
Wonder Man was released in its entirety on Disney+ on January 27, 2026, and consists of eight episodes. It is part of Phase Six of the MCU, and was released under the "Marvel Spotlight" banner. The series received positive reviews from critics.
Premise
Struggling actors Simon Williams and Trevor Slattery try to land roles in a remake of the superhero film Wonder Man.Cast
An aspiring actor who auditions for the lead role in the remake of an in-universe Wonder Man film and secretly possesses ionic energy-based superpowers, including superhuman strength and speed, as well as the ability to create massive explosions. Showrunner Andrew Guest described the character as "incredibly powerful in a way that even he is not fully aware", with Marvel Studios executive Brian Gay adding that Simon "doesn't even know the extent of what his powers are", although both noted that the character does not care that he has powers and simply wants to be an accomplished actor like Daniel Day-Lewis. Abdul-Mateen explained that Simon hides his powers because they are looked down upon, due to the Doorman Clause having banned superpowered individuals from the Marvel Cinematic Universe's fictional version of Hollywood. The character allowed Abdul-Mateen to explore "some three-dimensionality" between his past and relationship to his family, while still being a superhero. Kameron J. Meadows portrays a young Simon.- X Mayo as Janelle Jackson: Simon's agent
- Zlatko Burić as Von Kovak:
A failed actor who previously took on the guise of the Mandarin working for Aldrich Killian and was later abducted by Xu Wenwu's Ten Rings organization, who is also auditioning for the Wonder Man film. Slattery returns to Hollywood after the Mandarin and Ten Rings fallout to find a "second chance" as an actor and to prove to his mother Dorothy he was "the actor always hoped he would be", with Wonder Man showing Slattery take ownership for his past behavior. He becomes friends with Simon though he also realizes Simon is someone he can exploit. Guest called Slattery a "Forrest Gump-y, Chauncey Gardiner-type character" who manages to get "caught up in bigger-picture things". Executive producer Brad Winderbaum said the character had a "very interesting three-act structure" within the series that was "very sincere, very earnest not cynical", with Kingsley adding that Slattery gets "pulled in two directions", including reaching his ambition but "at a terrible cost". Winderbaum said the series concludes a trilogy for Slattery, following his appearances in the MCU films Iron Man 3 and Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.
- Arian Moayed as P. Cleary: A Department of Damage Control agent, who considers Simon an "extraordinary threat"
- Joe Pantoliano as a fictionalized version of himself who is an old rival of Slattery.
- Byron Bowers as DeMarr Davis / Doorman:
- Josh Gad as a fictionalized version of himself who becomes Davis's best friend. Gad jokingly said that he used method acting techniques to get into his own head for his performance in Wonder Man, and stated that he had hoped to play a superhero in the series, although he admitted that he ended up playing "the next best thing, which is myself".
Production
Development
While working on the Marvel Cinematic Universe film Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, director Destin Daniel Cretton and Marvel Studios producer Jonathan Schwartz discussed creating a television series centered on the character Trevor Slattery, and discussed this with the actor who plays the character, Ben Kingsley. Around the same time, Marvel Studios producers Stephen Broussard and Brian Gay were beginning early development on a project centered on the character Simon Williams / Wonder Man. Marvel Studios' head of streaming, television, and animation Brad Winderbaum said both ideas were conceived around an "actor's journey" narrative and working in Hollywood and naturally merged to create a "two-hander" between Simon and Slattery.In December 2021, Cretton signed a multi-year deal with Marvel Studios and Onyx Collective to develop television projects for Disney+, with a comedy series already in development at that point. Cretton would produce the series through his newly created production company, Family Owned. This was in conjunction with Cretton returning to write and direct the sequel to Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. In June 2022, the series was revealed to be in early development and titled Wonder Man, with Andrew Guest joining to develop the series and serve as head writer; he was previously a consulting producer on the Marvel Studios series Hawkeye. Cretton was expected to direct episodes of the series, and was confirmed to be that October, directing the series' first two episodes. Joe Otterson at Variety noted the series had the possibility to be a "Hollywood satire", which he felt made sense given the character's history in the comics as an actor and stuntman; the series was later reported to be a character study of Simon that explores the behind-the-scenes of Hollywood. Winderbaum said Guest was able to pitch a take on the series that was "an uncynical, earnest view of the trials and tribulations of anyone in the arts". In February 2023, James Ponsoldt entered negotiations to direct episodes of the series, while Stella Meghie was hired to direct multiple episodes by the end of the month. Ponsoldt directed the third and fourth episodes, while Tiffany Johnson directed the fifth and sixth episodes, and Meghie directed the final two episodes.
By October 2023, Marvel Studios shifted their creative philosophy to a more traditional television development process, moving away from head writers and began to hire dedicated showrunners for their series; Guest was named showrunner for Wonder Man. Marvel Studios formally announced the series in October 2024 when it released the first footage alongside the studios' other 2025 series. Adam Blevins from Collider said Wonder Man was Marvel Studios' "worst-kept secret for quite some time" and was grateful to have official information released for it. The series was originally reported to consist of ten episodes, but Marvel Studios' head of streaming, television, and animation Brad Winderbaum later said it would consist of eight episodes, with each ranging from approximately 20 to 40 minutes. Executive producers of the series include Marvel Studios' Kevin Feige, Stephen Broussard, Jonathan Schwartz, Louis D'Esposito, and Winderbaum, alongside Cretton and Guest.
Because Wonder Man was developed prior to Marvel Studios' late 2023 shift towards multi-season television series, they were taking a "wait-and-see approach" by May 2025 regarding whether it would get a second season. Winderbaum explained that, while the series "really stands on its own as a beautiful piece", it was "caught in the middle" of their creative overhaul and was not planned to have additional seasons. Marvel Studios would be open to more if there was a strong audience response.
Writing
Paul Welsh, Madeline Walter, Zeke Nicholson, Anayat Fakhraie, Roja Gashtili, Julia Lerman, and Kira Talise served as writers on the series, alongside showrunner Andrew Guest. Wonder Man features a metafiction narrative set within the MCU, with Simon Williams actor Yahya Abdul-Mateen II stating that the series is "self-aware, without looking directly into the camera", and despite the various commentaries and meta nature of Wonder Man, the series' focus was about "an actor's journey" and "a journey of friendship". Cretton described the series as weird and melancholy. Winderbaum called the series a "two-hander" with Simon and Trevor Slattery, who are both actors and bond over their love of acting, while Abdul-Mateen stated that these characters represent two different sides of being a professional actor, as "'s trying to re-create something, and Simon's trying to reach for something that's better than the last thing that he did". Guest and the writers worked to ensure the audience would care about Simon's journey as an actor, a process Guest felt many outside of the industry did not view as "life or death" despite many actors, including Simon, feeling as such. Winderbaum described the series as a "love letter to Hollywood", and to the profession of acting, such as how artists balance their love for the profession while needing to make money. Kingsley noted how the series examines "everything that's beautiful and good, and also everything that's vulnerable and rather unhealthy" about Hollywood "in a very entertaining, non-judgmental way". The series also examines superhero fatigue.Focusing on "acting as a craft" and one actor were elements Winderbaum believed set Wonder Man apart from the similarly meta Apple TV+ series The Studio, with that series more focused on "the big Hollywood... machine". Winderbaum added that the series was "straight from the minds" of Cretton and Guest, and said it was "very sincere". Kingsley worked with Cretton and Guest on the backstory for Slattery, which is seen in the series, after previously envisioning some elements of it when he was first cast in the role for the MCU film Iron Man 3. Wonder Man introduces the Doorman Clause, which bans superpowered individuals from acting in films and television within the MCU. Molly Freeman of Screen Rant described this as an evolution of the Sokovia Accords and other anti-superhero movements depicted in the MCU, such as Wilson Fisk / Kingpin Anti-Vigilante Task Force from the Marvel Studios series Daredevil: Born Again. Wonder Man features homages to Simon's appearances in the 1980s West Coast Avengers comic books, as well as films that the series' creative team are fans of, such as The Player, with Guest stating that one of the jokes from that film served as inspiration for the final scene of Wonder Man with Joe Pantoliano.
Wonder Man does not reveal the origin of Simon's powers, with Guest stating that there have been discussions regarding an explanation for it, one of the ideas proposed being to make the character a mutant. Although the series' creative team has managed to reach a conclusion on the matter and is aware of it, they ultimately decided not to disclose this information in Wonder Man because they felt it was important to ensure that Simon's powers "served his character" rather than being something that simply "happened to him", which Guest noted is similar to the mutant-centric film X-Men, declaring that "those powers that all those teenagers felt so psychological like it was about all these life changes we go through", while adding that Simon "doesn't have any curiosity about " and thinks they are "just really kind of a hindrance".
Casting
Kingsley was revealed in August 2022 to be reprising his MCU role of Trevor Slattery, which was said to be a major role in the series. In October, Abdul-Mateen was cast as Simon Williams. Previously, Nathan Fillion appeared on movie posters as Simon Williams in a cut sequence from the MCU film Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. James Gunn, the director of that film, enjoyed Wonder Man from the comics and felt Fillion could portray the "sometimes douchey actor/superhero" that the character is. Even though the posters were cut from the film, Gunn still considered them to be canon to the MCU. Fillion ultimately voiced the character in the M.O.D.O.K. animated series. Lauren Glazier was cast in a supporting role in February 2023. The following month, Demetrius Grosse was cast as Simon's brother Eric Williams, while Ed Harris was reported to have been cast as agent Neal Saroyan. By the end of April, Josh Gad had reportedly joined the cast, which was confirmed in August 2024. Also revealed to have been cast in the series were Byron Bowers as DeMarr Davis / Doorman in July 2024, Béchir Sylvain in August, and Manny McCord in October.In July 2025, Arian Moayed was revealed to be reprising his MCU role as P. Cleary in the series. In October, Zlatko Burić was revealed to have been cast as film director Von Kovak, while X Mayo, Olivia Thirlby, and Pantoliano were announced as part of the cast. Other actors revealed to be appearing were Dane Larsen, Phumzile Sitole, Jere Burns, Simon Templeman, Charlotte Ross, and Torrey Vogel. The following month, Gad was revealed to be playing himself, as were Pantoliano and Mario Lopez, the latter of whom announced his casting in early January 2026. At that time, Juliette Ortega was revealed to have been cast in the role of Melanie. A week ahead of the series premiere at the end of that month, several other roles were revealed: Sylvain and Shola Adewusi as Sanford and Martha Williams, respectively; Mayo as Janelle Jackson; Thirlby as Vivian; Larsen as Brent Willard; and Kameron J. Meadows as a young Simon. Additional cast members include Jon A. Abrahams as Frank Preminger, Ashley Greene as herself, and Lauren Weedman as Kathy Friedman.
Design
Cindy Chao and Michele Yu were the production designers, with Joy Cretton, Destin's sister, serving as costume designer. Joy wanted the characters' costumes to be realistic, with the exception of Slattery's, whom she called "a collector of interesting things" and said would have "this really eclectic closet", although she added that Slattery was also expected to have a "simpler, more Zen" look due to his visit to the mystical city of Ta Lo, which was depicted in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. The series pays homage to several of Wonder Man's costumes from the comics: the first outfit is worn by the protagonist of the original, in-universe Wonder Man film, and consists of a green jumpsuit with a red "W" and "M" chest emblem and a yellow jetpack inspired by the costume that was introduced in West Coast Avengers vol. 2 #12 ; the second outfit is worn by Simon at the premiere of the Wonder Man remake depicted in the series finale, and consists of a red jacket over a black turtleneck reminiscent of the "safari jacket" costume that debuted in The Avengers vol. 1 #167 ; and the third and final outfit, worn by Simon in the last scene of the series, is a sleeveless black suit with a large red "W" symbol on the chest, based on the costume first featured in The Avengers vol. 1 #253. All three outfits include red sunglasses. When designing Simon's superhero suit, Joy said she "went back and forth between the red and the green look", referring to the character's original comic book costume, before ultimately deciding to create the final black and red suit seen in the series, with Joy describing the outfit as "a little moody since Simon's an emotional character". Doorman wears a comics-accurate black and white mask, while the rest of his outfit is all black and features a buckle-covered leather trench coat and a silver chain.Filming
Principal photography began by April 5, 2023, in Los Angeles, under the working title Callback, with Cretton, Ponsoldt, Johnson, and Meghie directing the series. Brett Pawlak was the cinematographer for Cretton and Johnson's episodes, while Armando Salas was the cinematographer on Ponsoldt and Meghie's episodes. Filming was initially expected to conclude by early August. Soundstage work occurred at Radford Studio Center in Studio City, Los Angeles. Filming was taking place around Hollywood Boulevard in Los Angeles on May 4, 2023, when picketers participating in the 2023 Writers Guild of America strike attempted to shut down production; however, filming for the series was still continuing during the strike at that time and was not expected to be impacted by the strike. It was reported that Marvel Studios was planning to shoot what they could during principal photography and make any necessary writing adjustments during the series' already scheduled reshoots. Picketers stopped production when it returned to film at Radford Studio Center on May 8. Production was shut down by the end of the month with plans to resume after the WGA strike and the subsequent 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike concluded. Approximately half of the series was filmed before the shutdown.In October 2023, Joanna Robinson, co-author of the book MCU: The Reign of Marvel Studios, reported that Marvel Studios was considering not moving forward with the series, despite already filming material prior to the strikes. Guest explained that Marvel Studios used the production pause during the strikes to re-evaluate and provide notes on the series for when production resumed. Cretton added that it was possible the series could have become a tax write-off for Disney at that point, something that was happening at other studios with other unreleased projects, but Marvel Studios executives fought to ensure filming could be completed. Following the conclusion of the SAG-AFTRA strike in November and Cretton's exit from directing the planned film Avengers: The Kang Dynasty to focus on his commitments to other MCU projects, including Wonder Man, filming was set to resume around the end of the month after Thanksgiving. Filming resumed in Los Angeles by early January 2024. J.C. "Spike" Osorio, a lighting technician, died during production work on set at Radford Studio Center on February 6, after falling from the rafters. Disney and Radford Studio Center were respectively fined $36,000 and $45,000 after the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health concluded their investigation into Osorio's death and found that deterioration in the conditions of the catwalk Osorio was standing on led to his death. The majority of filming was completed by early February, with pick-ups planned during the following weeks. Filming wrapped by April 2024.
Post-production
Winderbaum confirmed that the series was being edited by March 2024. Gina Sansom serves as an editor on the series, after previously working with Cretton on the series American Born Chinese. Nena Erb and Cassie Dixon also edited for the series, and John Haley was the visual effects supervisor.Music
Joel P. West composed the score for the series, after previously working on Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. The soundtrack was released on January 30, 2026.Marketing
The first footage from the series was included in a video that was released by Disney+ in October 2024, announcing the release schedule for Marvel Television and Marvel Animation projects through the end of 2025. More footage, introduced by Kingsley, was shown during Disney's upfront presentation in May 2025. In July 2025, Abdul-Mateen appeared in character as Simon at the red carpet premiere for the MCU film The Fantastic Four: First Steps. Abdul-Mateen called Wonder Man a "dream part" for him, having enjoyed the original film when he was younger. George Marston from Total Film felt Simon referencing an earlier fictional Wonder Man project that existed within the MCU was a way for Marvel Studios to reconcile the reference to Wonder Man in the deleted scene of Vol. 2.Abdul-Mateen and Kingsley appeared at New York Comic Con in October 2025 to promote the series and premiere the first trailer for the series. The following month, an additional clip was released. Germain Lussier at Gizmodo called the clip similar to the trailer shown at New York Comic Con with the added element of revealing that Simon has superpowers. He said until this point, all of the footage presented the series as Simon just being a struggling actor trying to get his big shot, making Wonder Man seem like Marvel's version of the television series Entourage. Adding in the fact that Simon has powers and is trying to hide them to land a part in the fictional Wonder Man, created "a fun twist in the story and will certainly make for a nice blend of humor and action". Lussier also felt the tease of Simon's powers indicated that they may differ from the character's powers in the comics. Polygons Michael McWhertor also felt the clip began similarly to the New York Comic Con trailer, only for it to eventually reveal "what the show is about" with the tease of Simon's powers. More footage was shown at CCXP in December.
From the end of November through December 2025, various fictional promotional videos were released for the series. These included a faux promotional video for Slattery's acting lessons master class, "The Slattery Method", along with the creation of a promotional hotline telephone number that could be called or texted to sign up for updates on Wonder Man. George Marston from Total Film called the promotional video "one of the funnier, more effective promo videos we've seen from the MCU lately". Also released was a video for the fictional podcast Bad Actors hosted by Ben Mankiewicz, for his interview with Slattery to promote his appearance in the Wonder Man reboot film. Slattery leaves shortly into the interview when Mankiewicz continues to question him about taking the role of the Mandarin, which was depicted in Iron Man 3. The video Actors Unscripted featuring a conversation between Simon and Slattery was also released, parodying Varietys Actors on Actors. Throughout the interview, chicken wings, puppies, and a lie detector are brought out for the interview, acting as parodies to the talk show Hot Ones, BuzzFeed's puppy interviews, and Vanity Fairs lie detector test series, respectively. The escalating ridiculousness causes Simon to leave the interview.
Another trailer was released on January 1, 2026, New Year's Day, which Gizmodo Justin Carter said served as a reminder of the series's release later that month after it was pushed back from its December 2025 premiere. He noted that earlier trailers had "played coy" about Simon's powers and that this teaser provided a "deeper look" at them while teasing his ionic powers. Jennifer Ouellette at Ars Technica said the new trailer repurposed some of the earlier footage released and highlighted a new scene featuring Simon's powers in "explosive fashion" during a stressful audition. Kofi Outlaw from ComicBook.com noticed the "tea kettle format" of the trailer, showing the building pressure for Simon as he is trying to audition for Wonder Man, which brings up trauma from his past that leads to his powers "exploding out". Writing for Den of Geek, Joe George compared the trailer to the films of director Wes Anderson. He felt that the footage downplayed aspects of the superhero genre, such as depicting Simon's superpowers and references to the wider MCU, in response to superhero fatigue, but questioned whether Marvel Studios could fully satirize that genre. Following the trailer's release, additional marketing centered on the Doorman Clause was released. Carter felt these ads did "a good job of further fleshing out the MCU and through an interesting lens", exploring how "the upper class" within the MCU looks at superpowered individuals. Multiple commentators opined that the Doorman Clause could be a stepping stone towards the introduction of mutants and the X-Men in the MCU.
Release
Wonder Man was released in its entirety on Disney+ on January 27, 2026, and consists of eight episodes. A launch event was held at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood on January 22, 2026. The series is part of Phase Six of the MCU, and was released under the "Marvel Spotlight" banner.The series was initially expected to premiere during the 2023–24 television season, but its release date was unclear by September 2023, given filming had not yet been completed amid the ongoing WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. A December 2025 release month was announced in October 2024. Feige did not enjoy delaying the series, saying he disliked having "things sit on shelves" ready to go. He added that two similar series, HBO's The Franchise and The Studio, had been released since Wonder Man was delayed and it would now look like Marvel Studios was "following a trend, instead of leading it". Wonder Man was later shifted again to a January 2026 release because Marvel Studios did not want the series to be competing with holiday programming.