Marvel heard you might be feeling some superhero fatigue, so they put some superhero fatigue in their next superhero show. [Ok, thanks Xzibit, you can leave now]
That’s right, the first trailer for Wonder Man has arrived, and it promises a meta twist on the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
The trailer, which debuted on Oct. 10 (less than a day after DC’s Peacemaker season 2 finale), also quietly pushed the Wonder Man release date back from its original late 2025 slot and into January 2026. Check out the trailer for yourself, and then stick around for some analysis below.
The Wonder Man trailer doesn’t reveal much about the show itself, instead focusing on an in-universe interview with an “internationally celebrated and reclusive” director named Von Kovak (Zlatko Burić, who played the leader of Boravia in Superman). Kovak has just announced plans for a remake of the film Wonder Man and is ready to address the obvious question, cutting off his interviewer to say:
“Why one more superhero film? Everyone is tired of superheroes. Why go see them in the cinema? Wonder Man spoke to me on a deep level. There is an opportunity to shock audiences. To reimagine the whole genre of storytelling.”
The interviewer replies: “Have you given any thought about casting?”
The trailer then cuts to series star Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, who’s watching the interview on his phone, and the trailer ends.
We already knew that Wonder Man would be a meta take on the MCU. The show stars Abdul-Mateen II as Simon Williams, a Hollywood actor who becomes a superhero (Wonder Man). The rest of the cast includes Ben Kingsley returning as Iron Man 3‘s Trevor Slattery, Demetrius Grosse as Eric Williams (aka Grim Reaper), Ed Harris as Simon’s agent Neal Saroyan, and Arian Moayed returning as Department of Damage Control agent P. Cleary.
We don’t know much else about the plot of Wonder Man, but it’s clear that Marvel intends to poke some fun at itself. In the aftermath of Deadpool & Wolverine, it seems like the studio is all in on meta-humor. Will that work without the star power of Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman? We’ll have to wait and see.