{"id":2941,"date":"2026-06-04T16:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-06-04T16:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsmag.live\/2026\/06\/04\/no-superheroes-no-problem-inside-the-making-of-wonder-man\/"},"modified":"2026-06-04T16:00:00","modified_gmt":"2026-06-04T16:00:00","slug":"no-superheroes-no-problem-inside-the-making-of-wonder-man","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsmag.live\/ja\/2026\/06\/04\/no-superheroes-no-problem-inside-the-making-of-wonder-man\/","title":{"rendered":"No Superheroes? No Problem. Inside the Making of \u2018Wonder Man\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\tWonder Man<\/a><\/em>\u2018s timing couldn\u2019t have been worse. The streaming bubble burst during its development, triggering an internal reevaluation by Marvel<\/a> Studios. Even after narrowly withstanding Wall Street\u2019s market correction, it was halted by the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes midway through the season, with no guarantee that it would resume. After all, the shock of HBO Max shelving its Batgirl<\/em> movie for a tax write-off was still in the air, and pop culture was busy writing the superhero genre\u2019s obituary after a string of box office underperformers from both Marvel and DC. \t<\/p>\n

\t\u201cWonder Man<\/em> was definitely a vulnerable project. We were one of the last projects in the door when there was this mandate from Disney for Marvel to crank out as much as possible,\u201d says co-creator and showrunner Andrew Guest. <\/p>\n

\tFellow co-creator and director of episodes one and two, Destin Daniel Cretton<\/a>, credits Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige and the rest of the company\u2019s brass for defending the now-aptly titled series during unprecedented times. \u201cThis show has many lives. There was a lot of behind-the-scenes drama. It definitely would\u2019ve gotten canceled at another studio,\u201d adds Cretton, who\u2019s in post on July\u2019s Spider-Man: Brand New\u00a0Day.<\/em><\/p>\n

\tOne of the many other reasons Guest was so worried about Wonder Man\u2019<\/em>s future was that it was a creative risk for Marvel. It\u2019s not a series about a superhero who\u2019s also a struggling actor. It\u2019s a series about a struggling actor whose secret superpowers are the bane of his existence. In other words, it\u2019s about characters, not spectacle.<\/p>\n

\tVFX supervisor John Haley estimates that Wonder Man<\/em>, out of the half dozen MCU series he\u2019s worked on, has roughly \u201chalf as many\u201d VFX shots. \t<\/p>\n

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\t \t\t\t\t\tCo-creator and director Destin Daniel Cretton (right) took inspiration from his early days as a struggling filmmaker living in Echo Park for the show.<\/span> \t\t \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSuzanne Tenner\/MARVEL<\/cite> \t\t\t\t\t \t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

\tThe story of Simon Williams, aka Wonder Man, actually begins with Ben Kingsley<\/a>\u2018s Trevor Slattery. On the 2020 set of Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Ring<\/em>s, Cretton and his producer Jonathan Schwartz spitballed a spinoff series that would chronicle the disgraced thespian\u2019s attempt to restart his career following global condemnation for playing the part of the terrorist The Mandarin in real life.<\/p>\n

\tCretton\u2019s art department went as far as designing a mock poster with the title of Trevor Goes to Hollywood<\/em>, but Marvel already was developing the Hollywood-centric Wonder Man<\/em>, leading to a creative fusion between the two.<\/p>\n

\tInspired by Midnight Cowboy<\/em>, Guest then pitched his winning take involving an unlikely friendship between two lonely, narcissistic actors during their shared pursuit of career-making and career-saving roles in a Wonder Man<\/em> movie. With Kingsley attached first, Cretton championed casting Yahya Abdul-Mateen II<\/a> as Simon. The two had met for a general well before Wonder Man<\/em>, but seeing Abdul-Mateen\u2019s versatile performance in Broadway\u2019s Topdog\/Underdog <\/em>cemented the idea for Cretton. He then got Guest and Marvel execs on board, only for Abdul-Mateen himself to be the lone holdout.<\/p>\n

\tSurprisingly, his tenure as Aquaman<\/em> villain Black Manta in the tumultuous DC Extended Universe had no bearing on his cautious approach to accepting a Marvel role. \t<\/p>\n

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\t \t\t\t\t\tThe show shot at real L.A. landmarks, including the Fox Westwood Village Theatre.<\/span> \t\t \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSuzanne Tenner\/MARVEL<\/cite> \t\t\t\t\t \t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

\tThe New Orleans native compares his decision-making process to having only one dollar to spend in the MCU and wanting to use it wisely. That meant requesting a call with Feige \u2014 a move his reps warned could make him seem high-maintenance \u2014 much like Simon in episode one, when he\u2019s fired from American Horror Story<\/em> for nitpicking his one scene as a day player. \u201cI had the audacity to say, \u2018No, I need to speak to the top,\u2019 \u201d recalls Abdul-Mateen.<\/p>\n

\tNeedless to say, the call went well. \u201cKevin was completely game. I told him I wanted to be a human and funny \u2014 and he said that\u2019s why they wanted me,\u201d says Abdul-Mateen.<\/p>\n

\tAbdul-Mateen would next find out that Kingsley has his own scrupulous process for sizing up his collaborators. After accepting the role, Abdul-Mateen extended an overture to build a rapport offscreen in service of their onscreen relationship, but much to his surprise, Kingsley rebuffed the offer.<\/p>\n

\tKingsley said he would prepare independently, indicating that their time to discover each other would come on set. And if Abdul-Mateen required any script changes, he needed to address them right away, before Kingsley memorized them.<\/p>\n

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\t \t\t\t\t\tCretton and Ben Kingsley (left) met when they worked together on Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.<\/em><\/span> \t\t \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSuzanne Tenner\/MARVEL<\/cite> \t\t\t\t\t \t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

\t\u201cBy him being so independent in his preparation, it put a chip on my shoulder,\u201d says Abdul-Mateen, who first gained his scene partner\u2019s respect by showing up to their episode one table read completely off-book. \u201cSo I\u2019m actually glad how things played out. We both formed our own road maps and shared them with each other on the day,\u201d he says. \t<\/p>\n

\tThe stakes of the series are less rooted in whether Simon and Trevor will land lead roles in Wonder Man<\/em> (yes, it\u2019s meta) and more about whether Simon\u2019s volatile powers that can cause explosions will derail his entire life. The added rub is that Trevor, as part of an unfulfilled prison sentence, is reluctantly working on behalf of the Department of Damage Control (DODC) to gather evidence against Simon.<\/p>\n

\tIt\u2019s now illegal for superhumans to act on movie sets after a tragic incident years earlier involving DeMarr \u201cDoorman\u201d Davis (Byron Bowers) and a fictional version of Josh Gad.<\/p>\n

\tInspired by the anthology episodes of Atlanta<\/em> and Guest\u2019s former show, Community<\/em>, episode four, \u201cDoorman,\u201d flashes back to tell the cautionary tale of how DeMarr became a super-powered doorway. Shortly after coming into contact with a mysterious black goo, DeMarr, through his newfound ability to function as a human portal, provided safe passage for Gad and others during a nightclub fire.<\/p>\n

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\t \t\t\t\t\tThe series has significantly fewer action sequences and visual effects than a typical Marvel show, instead favoring monologues and character moments.<\/span> \t\t \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSuzanne Tenner\/MARVEL<\/cite> \t\t\t\t\t \t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

\tHollywood quickly turned DeMarr into an overnight sensation. Then, as his 15 minutes of fame began to run out and his powers destabilized from heavy drinking, DeMarr accidentally trapped Gad inside him during a movie stunt gone wrong.<\/p>\n

\tWhen approached about playing a heightened, bizarro version of himself, Gad was flattered by what he calls his \u201cstrangest\u201d casting opportunity to date. But fearing he would exclude himself from playing a proper MCU character, he, too, asked to have his own chat with Feige before signing on the dotted line. \u201cKevin kindly lied to me through his teeth and said, \u2018We will definitely make sure you play another character,\u2019 \u201d Gad jokes. \u201cMaybe he\u2019ll call me in 50 years to do my version of the Robert Redford-Harrison Ford late-stage bureaucrat role.\u201d \t<\/p>\n

\tFrom the 30,000-foot view, Wonder Man<\/em> is a tribute to dreamers, particularly those who come to Los Angeles to doggedly pursue their greater ambitions. Thus, L.A. became the only option for shooting the show, and Marvel and the Wonder Man<\/em> team were determined to make it happen with or without a tax credit. The show shot at a number of L.A. landmarks, including the TCL Chinese Theatre and the Hollywood Walk of Fame, but it made a greater point of capturing plenty of local favorites and lesser photographed areas.<\/p>\n

\tAfter Simon and Trevor\u2019s first audition for Wonder Man<\/em>, they go for drinks at the now-closed Taix, Echo Park\u2019s 99-year-old French restaurant that Guest and Cretton frequented during their early careers.<\/p>\n

\tCretton also revisited some of the same neighborhoods where he shot his first two indie features, I Am Not a Hipster<\/em> and Short Term 12<\/em>. Even the set for Simon\u2019s modest apartment on Lexington Avenue evoked Cretton\u2019s humble beginnings. \u201cI could almost smell the mildew of my first apartment in Echo Park, back when I was surviving off of 99-cent burritos and Top Ramen,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

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\t \t\t\t\t\tThe Clark Street Diner in Hollywood hosts a clandestine meeting in the show between Trevor and Agent Cleary (played by Arian Moayed).<\/span> \t\t \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSuzanne Tenner\/MARVEL<\/cite> \t\t\t\t\t \t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

\tSimon and Trevor end up landing lead roles in Wonder Man<\/em>, but when Trevor is later forced to come clean about his informant arrangement with the DODC, Simon, fueled by heartbreak and rage, proceeds to blow up an entire Wonder Man<\/em> soundstage, a sequence that Haley considers to be the season\u2019s pi\u00e8ce de r\u00e9sistance given the intricate teamwork across multiple departments. The season ends with Simon breaking Trevor out of prison for taking the fall for him. \t<\/p>\n

\tThe response to Marvel\u2019s most unconventional series has been so resoundingly positive that Disney has ordered a second season, a rarity for Marvel shows. Guest says season two will reckon with Simon and Trevor\u2019s legal standing without abandoning their charming dynamic as actors-in-arms. \u201cSimon makes a real friend for the first time in his life. Moving forward, that is going to be more important to him as a person than any dream role,\u201d says Guest. As for whether Abdul-Mateen got his dollar\u2019s worth from Wonder Man<\/em>, he responds emphatically: \u201cHeck yeah, man.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tThis story appeared in the June 3 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. Click here to subscribe<\/a><\/em>.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Wonder Man\u2018s timing couldn\u2019t have been worse. The streaming bubble burst during its development, triggering an internal reevaluation by Marvel Studios. Even after narrowly withstanding Wall Street\u2019s market correction, it was halted by the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes midway through the season, with no guarantee that it would resume. After all, the shock of HBO Max shelving its Batgirl movie for a tax write-off was still in the air, and pop culture was busy writing the superhero genre\u2019s obituary after a string of box office underperformers from both Marvel and DC. \u201cWonder Man was definitely a vulnerable project. We were one of the last projects in the door when […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2942,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1746,124,1747,2,1748,85,335,1749,379],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2941","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-anatomy-of-a-contender","category-ben-kingsley","category-destin-daniel-cretton","category-hollywood","category-marvel","category-tv","category-tv-features","category-wonder-man","category-yahya-abdul-mateen-ii"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsmag.live\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2941","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsmag.live\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsmag.live\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsmag.live\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsmag.live\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2941"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsmag.live\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2941\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsmag.live\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2942"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsmag.live\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2941"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsmag.live\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2941"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsmag.live\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2941"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}