Yahya Abdul-Mateen II will make his Marvel debut in the forthcoming Disney+ series Wonder Man.
As reported by Variety, Abdul-Mateen has been cast as the titular superhero, otherwise known as Simon Williams. The role marks the 36-year-old Emmy-winning actor’s third portrayal of a comic book character, after Abdul-Mateen played Black Manta in 2018’s Aquaman, which he will reprise in the 2023 sequel, as well as Dr. Manhattan in HBO’s hit series Watchmen. Wonder Man was first introduced in 1964 in the pages of Avengers No. 9.
Marvel Studios, which initially announced Wonder Man this past June, has not yet revealed a release date for the project. However, the series will be helmed by Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings filmmaker Destin Daniel Cretton and Andrew Guest, a writer-producer who’s worked on comedies such as Brooklyn Nine-Nine and Community.
Earlier this year, Abdul-Mateen spoke with Vulture about his experience in the DCU, which he called “clown work” in terms of how it compares to working on other films.
“Everything should be about getting to the truth. But sometimes you got to know which movie or genre you’re in,” Abdul-Mateen told the outlet. “Something like ‘Aquaman,’ that’s clown work. ‘Aquaman’ is not ‘The Trial of the Chicago 7.’ You have got to get over yourself.”
He continued, “In order to survive and to do it well, you have to play that game and then be crafty about when you want to surprise the audience, the director, or yourself with a little bit of, ‘Wow, I didn’t expect to see a Chekhovian thing or August Wilson and Aquaman, but I did.’”
