Yahya Abdul-Mateen II has been tapped for the lead role in Marvel’s Wonder Man live-action Disney+ series.
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings filmmaker Destin Daniel Cretton will reportedly executive produce and possibly direct an episode or more. Andrew Guest, a writer-producer on comedies such as Brooklyn Nine-Nine and Community, will serve as head writer.
Ben Kingsley will reprise his role as Trevor Slattery in the upcoming Marvel series. According to Deadline,Ben Kingsley’s Slattery is a failed actor who posed as the main baddie in Iron Man 3. Tony Stark foils him. Slattery returned as a good guy in last year’s Shang-Chi and the Legends of the Ten Rings.
Created in the 1960s, Wonder Man aka Simon Williams was a villain turned hero with various super powers ranging from strength to speed to Ionic Energy Manipulation and even teleportation. The character was first introduced in 1964 in the pages of Avengers No 9.
According to insider Daniel Richtman, the series is eyeing a 2023 production start however a more definitive timeline has not been revealed.
Per Deadline, Abdul-Mateen is best known in the superhero sphere for his work on HBO’s Watchmen, having won his first Emmy in 2020 for his turn as Cal Abar/Dr. Manhattan in the show based on the DC Comics from Dave Gibbons and Alan Moore. The actor first tied himself to DC with 2018’s Aquaman and will reprise his role as David Kane aka Black Manta in the sequel Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, which is slated for release on December 25, 2023.
Source: Deadline