Think of it as the anti-Barry, or at least the more serious, grounded version. More than a being your run-of-the-mill Marvel Studios Disney+ series, Wonder Man, is an ode to the LA struggling actor and the current day entertainment industry.
The concept for the show stemmed from Shang-Chi and the Legend of Ten Rings filmmaker Destin Daniel Cretton‘s fascination with Ben Kingsley’s acting process for his lampoon-ish, sometimes villain Travis Slattery. It turns out Marvel was trying to create their own take of Wonder Man based on the comic book but they gave Cretton and series co-creator Andrew Guest full reign to devise their own as they saw fit. The original Wonder Man in the comics was an industrialist who dies and becomes a zombie, and in his second 1990s iteration he’s a Tom Cruise-like actor who does his own stunts.
The show revolves around Simon Williams, an actor who is trying to make ends meet. He lands the role of a lifetime as he’s cast as Wonder Man in a big superhero movie. It’s also a part he’s prized since childhood. Only thing is that Simon isn’t aware of his superpowers. However, working actor and sometimes fill-in villain (from Iron Man 3 and Shang-Chi fame), Trever Slattery, knows who this guy is; in fact he’s working with the government to try and nab Simon. Wonder Man in the comics infiltrates the Avengers, however, no word whether he’s making a cameo in the Russo Brothers’ Avengers: Doomsday and beyond.
Cretton and Guest share with us what changed about the series after being paused due to the strikes, how they landed on Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, and the state of season 2 (not many Marvel Disney+ series land a second season). In addition Cretton let’s us know what’s up with Shang-Chi 2, the first film owning the biggest opening for Labor Day weekend ever with a 4-day of $94.6M domestic and final of $224.5M in U.S./Canada and $432.2M WW.
Cretton also tells about Spider-Man: Brand New Day, specifically how the production handled Tom Holland’s injury as well the current franchise’s future.
“Is there ever a last Spider-Man?” Cretton tells Crew Call, “Everyone should go to this (movie) as if it’s the last Spider-Man.”
Wonder Man season one is available to watch on Disney+. Spider-Man: Brand New Day from Sony and Marvel Studios opens on July 31.
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