Even with it now clear that the series will poke fun at Hollywood and "superhero fatigue," there's an awful lot we don't know about Marvel Television's Wonder Man.
The trailer and TV spots have established that Simon Williams is an actor who wants to star in the reboot of "Wonder Man," and that he has superpowers which, for some reason, have been outlawed in Hollywood. That's put Simon on the Department of Damage Control's radar, with Trevor Slattery seemingly spying on him on their behalf to earn his freedom.
That may be the basic premise of Wonder Man, but one of the many mysteries is how Simon's brother, Erik Williams, fits into the story. In the comics, he's the villainous Grim Reaper and Wonder Man's main foe.
However, just like Simon's story is being changed—as best we can tell, he wasn't given his powers by Baron Zemo and obviously didn't provide the basis for Vision's brainwave patterns—the same may be true for Erik.
In a newly released Wonder Man promo, he can be seen stating that Simon cares nothing for their family. He doesn't appear overly villainous and isn't suited up as Grim Reaper, but who knows how he'll develop over the course of these 8 episodes.
Talking to us in 2024, Demetrius Grosse said, "I think people are going to be intrigued by the dynamic between Simon Williams and Eric Williams as much as they’re excited about the dynamic between Grim Reaper and Wonder Man. This series is gonna be a very, very different kind of show, but pleasantly so."
Grosse's name hasn't been included in press releases for Wonder Man, so it's a relief to learn that Erik will still appear in the Disney+ series.
Check out this new promo for Wonder Man below.
Wonder Man is created by Destin Daniel Cretton (Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Spider-Man: Brand New Day) and Andrew Guest (Community, Hawkeye).
The series stars Emmy Award winner Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as Simon Williams and Academy Award winner Ben Kingsley, who reprises his role as Trevor Slattery following appearances in Iron Man 3, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, and All Hail the King. Arian Moayed, X Mayo, Zlatko Burić, Olivia Thirlby, and Byron Bowers also feature.
Wonder Man follows aspiring Hollywood actor Simon Williams, who 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 that 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.
All eight episodes of Wonder Man will stream exclusively on Disney+ at 6pm PT January 27.