It’s official, Marvel Studios has found its Wonder Man.
Yahya Abdul-Mateen II will be joining the Disney+ series Wonder Man as Simon Williams, who transforms into the titular superhero. No stranger to the comic book genre, this role will be Abdul-Mateen’s third major comic book character. First as the villain Black Manta in 2018’s Aquaman and then as Dr. Manhattan in HBO’s 2019 series Watchmen, for which he won an Emmy. He will also reprise Black Manta in Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, which is scheduled to release Christmas 2023.
Destin Daniel Cretton, who directed Marvel’s Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, is developing Wonder Man with head writer Andrew Guest (“Brooklyn Nine-Nine,” “Community”), as part of Cretton’s overall deal with Marvel Studios and Onyx Collective.
If that name sounds familiar it’s because he was just announced as the director for the 2025’s Avengers: The Kang Dynasty and he’s expected to helm the upcoming Shang-Chi sequel.
In the comic books, San Williams is the son of a wealthy industrialist whose company, Williams Innovations, is run out of business due to competition from Stark Industries. In desperation, Simon turns to Baron Zemo, who gives Simon superpowers and directs him to infiltrate and then betray the Avengers. Eventually, however, Simon joins the Avengers in earnest, and is even a founding member of the spin-off team, the West Coast Avengers. However, it’s unclear how much or little of this storyline will make its way into the series.
Ben Kingsley is also set to return as failed-actor-turned-reformed-villain Trevor Slattery, which he originated in 2013’s Iron Man 3 and reprised in Shang-Chi.
