Could Marvel's 'Wonder Man' be the fresh MCU series we've been waiting for?

A little-known superhero from the Marvel stable will make his entry in the upcoming Disney+ series Wonder Man. Interestingly, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, who played the supervillain Black Manta in DC's Aquaman movies, is set to play the titular superhero, whose original name is Simon Williams.

The show is expected to hit streaming in December and would fill the gaps after The Fantastic Four: The First Steps, before the next live-action MCU tentpole arrives.

According to an official logline posted by Deadline, Wonder Man is touted as a "love letter to filmmaking, acting, and Hollywood itself, as it follows Hollywood actor Simon Williams (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) as he’s thrust into the world of superheroes, getting powers of his own, and becoming the superhero known as Wonder Man.”

Filmmaker Destin Daniel Cretton, who directed the successful Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, is the executive producer, aside from directing a few episodes, with Andrew Guest as the showrunner. Cretton's involvement is interesting given he is also directing the upcoming Spider-Man: Brand New Day and a future Shang-Chi instalment, hinting at the two sharing a common factor.

Interestingly, Ben Kingsley, who played the fake 'Mandarin', a washed-out actor named Trevor Slattery in Iron Man 3 and Shang-Chi, is reprising his character in Wonder Man. His inclusion makes sense given the Hollywood-centric subject matter, and the general light-hearted nature of the show is expected to have. This gives us a hope of seeing a relatively fun show as opposed to the dark superhero shows that Marvel previously released.

The film's cast also features veteran actor Ed Harris, in addition to Demetrius Grosse, who has been cast in the role of Simon's brother, Eric Williams.  The series will also see the return of Arian Moayed as Agent P. Cleary, who was part of Spider-Man: No Way Home and the Ms. Marvel series.

Wonder Man has an interesting origin story. Created by writer Stan Lee and artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby, he first showed up in the ninth issue of The Avengers comics as a supervillain but eventually reformed and turned hero, joining the good guys, fighting alongside the Avengers. 

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