Marvel Studios has found their Wonder Man.
Marvel Studios has a good year behind them. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness has almost crossed $1 billion at the global box office, they further optimized their Disney+ efforts with the Special Presentation format seen with Werewolf By Night and the soon-to-be-released Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special. And while they had to deal with some mixed reviews regarding Thor: Love and Thunder, the studio still got the Black Panther sequel Wakanda Forever ahead, which received a very positive first reaction after its world premiere.
Yahya Abdul-Mateen II Is Wonder Man
Kevin Feige held two great presentations at this year’s San Diego Comic-Con and Disney’s convention D23. Those presentations included the reveal of two Avengers films: The Kang Dynasty and Secret Wars, which are set to conclude the Multiverse Saga. But we also will get a new team with the Thunderbolts, a fourth Captain America film and the highly anticipated Fantastic Four film also finally has a release date and director attached.
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And we haven’t even mentioned Hugh Jackman’s return as Wolverine in Deadpool 3, which is set to arrive in November 2024. The future of the MCU is looking very bright and even with all those presentations and announcements, there still are a handful of projects that the trades have confirmed are in development, but haven’t been mentioned yet by Marvel Studios. Those include a Nova project, which according to the newest reports is going to be a Special Presentation, and a Wonder Man Disney + series. The latter just cast its leading man and it is a known face for comic book movie fans.
A DC STAR JOINS THE MCU?!
Deadline revealed that Yahya Abdul-Mateen II is set to join the MCU as Simon Williams/Wonder Man. The casting was first reported by ScreenGeek a few weeks ago.
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Abdul-Mateen II is best known for his role as Black Manta in the DC Universe. He played the character in Aquaman and also its sequel Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, which is set to bow in December 2023. He won an Emmy for playing Dr. Manhattan in HBO’s Watchmen series and played leading roles in 2021’s Candyman and Michael Bay’s Ambulance.
The actor is set to join Ben Kingsley who was confirmed to join the series a few days before Marvel Studios’ D23 presentation by Variety. Kingsley will reprise his role of Trevor Slattery which he played in Iron Man 3 and the recent Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. He is set to appear in a few episodes.
Wonder Man is being developed by Shang-Chi director Destin Daniel Cretton and Hawkeye producer Andrew Guest. Cretton is set to direct at least one episode, while Guest is the head writer of the show. According to rumors and the comics history of the character, the show is expected to be a Hollywood satire.
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This seems like great casting! While my first pick probably still would have been Henry Golding, I am sure that Abdul-Mateen II will rock this role. He has more than proven that he is a very exciting actor, who seemingly really likes to play parts in comic book projects. It will be intriguing to see his dynamic with Ben Kingsley and we are all excited to learn more about the show in the coming months. With the already attached talent and description, this sounds like it could be a really good one.
What do you all think of the Wonder Man series? Are you excited about this casting? Are you interested in the series? Let’s discuss everything over on our social media.
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Source: Deadline
