Marvel Cinematic Universe
Wonder Man is a Marvel Television series that dropped all eight episodes on Disney+ on January 27, 2026. It stars Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as Simon Williams, a struggling Hollywood actor with superpowers he is trying very hard to keep quiet, and Ben Kingsley returning as Trevor Slattery, the washed-up actor who once played the fake Mandarin in Iron Man 3. It is part of Phase Six of the MCU and was released under the Marvel Spotlight banner, which Marvel uses for stories that stand mostly on their own.
What Wonder Man Is About
Simon Williams can't get his acting career off the ground. After a chance meeting with Trevor Slattery, he finds out that legendary director Von Kovak is remaking the superhero movie Wonder Man, and Simon wants that role badly. The catch is that Simon has actual powers, and in a world where superpowered people are viewed with suspicion, landing a superhero part while hiding the real thing gets complicated fast.
The show plays more like a Hollywood satire than a typical Marvel action series. It pokes fun at the superhero movie machine while telling a smaller, character-driven story about Simon trying to reconcile the two halves of his life.
My Take on Wonder Man
I went into Wonder Man not really sure what to expect. I never read a Wonder Man comic, so I didn't know anything about the character. I ended up watching all eight episodes in a single night. It barely feels like a superhero show most of the time, and I mean that as a compliment. It is really about two actors trying to stay relevant in an industry that does not care about them, and the powers are almost a side detail.
Ben Kingsley is the main reason I tuned in as early as I did. Trevor Slattery is hilarious, and anything he shows up in, I am sure to watch. Yahya Abdul-Mateen II carries the heavier moments well, and the two of them together have a chemistry that made me want more. Which makes the cancellation sting. Marvel renewed it, then pulled the plug months later, and I think a lot of people never even knew the show existed. If you skipped it, go back and give it a shot.
Wonder Man Cast
- Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as Simon Williams / Wonder Man
- Ben Kingsley as Trevor Slattery
- Zlatko Burić as Von Kovak
- X Mayo
- Demetrius Grosse
- Arian Moayed
- Olivia Thirlby
Series Details
- Released: January 27, 2026 (all episodes at once)
- Platform: Disney+
- Episodes: 8
- Created by: Destin Daniel Cretton and Andrew Guest
- Showrunner: Andrew Guest
- Directors: Destin Daniel Cretton, James Ponsoldt, Tiffany Johnson, Stella Meghie
- MCU Phase: Phase Six (Marvel Spotlight)
Production
The series grew out of two separate comedy ideas about actors, one built around Simon Williams and one around Trevor Slattery, that Marvel combined into a single show. Cretton, who directed Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, signed an overall TV deal with Marvel in late 2021, and Wonder Man was first reported in June 2022.
Filming started in April 2023 in Los Angeles but shut down a month later because of the 2023 Writers Guild of America strike. Production picked back up in January 2024 and wrapped that March. Between the strike and Marvel reshuffling its release schedule, the show ended up arriving more than a year later than originally planned.
Reception
Wonder Man opened to strong reviews, landing a 91% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes. Yahya Abdul-Mateen II earned a Primetime Emmy nomination for his performance as Simon, putting the show alongside WandaVision and Loki as one of the few Disney+ Marvel series to get that kind of recognition.
Is There a Wonder Man Season 2?
No. Marvel announced a second season on March 23, 2026, with Abdul-Mateen II, Kingsley, Guest, and Cretton all set to return. Then on July 30, 2026, Variety reported the series had been cancelled. A writers' room for Season 2 was never opened, and the writers were released to work on other projects. That makes Season 1 the complete run, at least for now.
Personally I think this was a major misstep given how good the show was. It certainly wasn't a traditional superhero show, but it was entertaining and pretty hilarious.
Where Does Wonder Man Come From?
Wonder Man was created by Stan Lee, Don Heck, and Jack Kirby and first appeared in The Avengers #9 in 1964. In the comics, Simon Williams started out as a villain before becoming a longtime Avengers member, and his Hollywood acting career has been part of the character for decades, which is what the show builds on.
Wonder Man's powers in the MCU are never explained, leading many, including me, to believe that he is a mutant. They don't call him a mutant, but his powers first emerged when he was a teenager and are more of a burden than a gift.
Where to Watch Wonder Man
All eight episodes are streaming on Disney+. Marvel also put the first episode up for free on YouTube for a while, but it has since been removed.
