Simon Williams and Trevor Slattery will return in “Wonder Man” Season 2.
Marvel Studios announced Monday that the hit MCU Hollywood dramedy will return for a second season on Disney+. Yahya Abdul-Mateen II and Ben Kingsley will both return in their starring roles alongside series co-creators Destin Daniel Cretton and Andrew Guest. The series was originally slated to be a miniseries, but got renewed following strong word-of-mouth and audience reception.
“Wonder Man” follows Simon Williams (Abdul-Mateen), a struggling actor trying to find his big break in Hollywood while hiding the fact that he has superpowers to avoid getting blacklisted. Simon soon forms a friendship with Trevor Slattery (Kingsley), a former star whose career has run dry following a stint posing as the terrorist known as The Mandarin (seen in “Iron Man 3”).
Simon and Trevor soon begin to audition for “Wonder Man,” an updated remake of a classic superhero film from Simon’s youth. Little does Simon know, Trevor is in league with the Department of Damage Control to expose his energy-based superpowers and keep him out of Hollywood.
“Wonder Man” received strong reactions from fans and critics, particularly for the performances from and chemistry between Abdul-Mateen II and Kingsley. Rather than being a traditional MCU series, “Wonder Man” focuses almost solely on their relationship and Hollywood exploits, with superheroics rarely entering the picture.
The series featured a number of Hollywood references and celebrity cameos, including Josh Gad, Joe Pantoliano and Ashley Greene.
The show brings Simon Williams, created by Jack Kirby, Stan Lee and Don Heck, to the MCU for the first time. Williams is a complicated character in Marvel Comics history: sometimes a hero, sometimes a villain, sometimes an actor, sometimes a pacifist, and sometimes an Avenger. Rather than focusing only on his superhero persona, the series presents Wonder Man as a movie character Simon grew up idolizing and a role he later assumes.
“Wonder Man” joins a rare group of MCU Disney+ series renewed for a follow-up season. “Loki” ran for two seasons, while “Daredevil: Born Again” is slated for three. “Agatha All Along” and “VisionQuest” are spin-offs of “WandaVision,” which ran for a single season. A handful of animated series in the Marvel multiverse have also been renewed, including “What If…?,” “Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man” and “X-Men ’97.”
Cretton, who will soon direct his second MCU film, “Spider-Man: Brand New Day,” after joining the franchise with “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings,” which featured Kingsley as Trevor Slattery, will return to “Wonder Man” Season 2 as a director and producer. Guest will return as showrunner and executive producer.
