Auditioning to play a superhero is difficult enough on its own. Doing it while secretly being one is where the official trailer for Marvel’s Wonder Man drops us into. For a Marvel TV series set to arrive in January 2026, Wonder Man has flown unusually under the radar, with the studio keeping details close to the chest until now. The recently released official trailer for the series finally pulls back the curtain on Yahya Abdul-Mateen II’s Simon Williams, an “aspiring actor” with superpowers who finds himself auditioning to play a superhero in a big studio remake.
The movie in question is an in-universe Wonder Man reboot, set in motion when a legendary filmmaker comes out of retirement and opens the casting call to the public. Marvel is using the classic “film-within-a-film” (or here, film-within-a-series) trope to poke fun at where superhero stories are right now, and honestly, it looks absurdly entertaining, and far more self-aware than a standard origin story. With the series now just a few weeks out from its release, here’s everything we know so far about Marvel’s Wonder Man, including its release date, plot, cast, trailers, and more.
Marvel’s Wonder Man: Release Date
Marvel’s Wonder Man is set to premiere on January 27, 2026, on Disney+, making it one of the first MCU releases of the year. The eight-episode Disney+ series is co-created by Destin Daniel Cretton, who previously directed Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings and the currently in-production Spider-Man: Brand New Day, and was developed alongside Andrew Guest, who’s also serving as the series’s showrunner.
Marvel’s Wonder Man: Cast
The cast lineup for Wonder Man features familiar MCU faces alongside actors making their Marvel debut. Leading the series is Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as Simon Williams, an actor trying to make a living in Hollywood. This marks Abdul-Mateen II’s third live-action comic book role, following his work on HBO’s Watchmen and his turn as Black Manta in DC’s Aquaman films.
The most recognisable Marvel return comes from Sir Ben Kingsley, who reprises his role as Trevor Slattery. Kingsley first appeared as the character in Iron Man 3 and later returned in 2014’s Marvel One-Shot short film All Hail the King and Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. Also returning is Arian Moayed as Agent P. Cleary, representing the Department of Damage Control, who we also saw in Spider-Man: No Way Home.
The supporting cast also includes Demetrius Grosse as Eric Williams, Simon’s brother, and Ed Harris as Neal Saroyan, Simon’s agent, alongside a broader group of actors. Here’s the currently confirmed cast for Marvel’s Wonder Man:
- Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as Simon Williams aka Wonder Man
- Ben Kingsley as Trevor Slattery
- Zlatko Burić as Von Kovak
- Arian Moayed as P. Cleary
- Demetrius Grosse as Eric Williams aka Grim Reaper
- Ed Harris as Neal Saroyan
- X Mayo
- Olivia Thirlby
- Byron Bowers
- Lauren Glazier
- Béchir Sylvain
- Manny McCord
- Simon Templeman
- Joe Pantoliano
What Will Marvel’s Wonder Man Be About?
Marvel’s Wonder Man is very much a superhero series, though it’s told from an unusual perspective. According to the official logline, the series follows “aspiring Hollywood actor Simon Williams is struggling to get his career off the ground. During a chance meeting with Trevor Slattery, an actor whose biggest roles may be well behind him, Simon learns legendary director Von Kovak is remaking the superhero film “Wonder Man”. These two actors at opposite ends of their careers doggedly pursue life-changing roles in this film as audiences get a peek behind the curtain of the entertainment industry.”
The Disney+ series is releasing under Marvel’s Spotlight banner, which essentially means the story will be more self-contained, with fewer ties to the wider MCU. Moreover, Marvel has been clear that this is not a typical superhero series and will instead focus on character work, performance, and the realities of trying to make it in Los Angeles.
Studio boss Kevin Feige has described Wonder Man as “extremely different than anything we’ve done before,” while executive producer Brad Winderbaum has called it a sincere and “beautiful” project that is a love letter to filmmaking and acting as a profession.
Winderbaum told Collider, “It’s a very new flavour for Marvel. It’s straight from the minds of (co-creators) Destin Daniel Cretton and Andrew Guest. Honestly, it is one of my favourite things ever. I think it’s the best show no one’s ever seen, and I’m very excited to see the audience reaction to it. I think it’s a love letter to what we do as filmmakers.” He went on to add, “It’s a love letter to acting as a profession, and it’s a very sincere, beautiful show.”
Is There A Trailer For Marvel’s Wonder Man?
Marvel kicked off the new year with the first official trailer for Wonder Man, offering a closer look at the upcoming Disney+ series. The footage introduces Simon Williams (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II), an aspiring actor struggling to break through in Hollywood, and Trevor Slattery (Sir Ben Kingsley), a washed-up performer whose biggest roles are long behind him. Their paths cross when legendary director Von Kovak announces a reboot of the in-universe superhero film Wonder Man, giving both men what could be their first or last real shot.
The catch is that Simon is clearly hiding a rather large secret. When he shows up for an audition, he’s asked to sign a disclaimer confirming he doesn’t have superpowers. He answers with a casual “Yeah,” even though he’s clearly not telling the whole truth.
We also see Arian Moayed returning as Agent Cleary from the Department of Damage Control, who wastes no time in calling Simon an “extraordinary threat,” so it looks like keeping his abilities hidden might be the real challenge ahead for Yahya Abdul-Mateen II’s Simon.
Are There Any Other Shows Like Marvel’s Wonder Man?
While you wait for Wonder Man, you can check out Loki or WandaVision on Disney+, both of which are more meta in nature. Outside the MCU, Prime Video’s The Boys pushes the meta angle even further, with a far darker, more cynical spin on superheroes.
