In what is arguably still one of the most controversial twists in superhero movie history, Iron Man 3 revealed that "The Mandarin" was really Liverpudleon actor, Trevor Slattery. The comedic reveal wasn't well-received by many fans, especially as they'd been waiting to see the villain on screen since 2008's Iron Man.
Eight years after the threequel was released, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings introduced Wenwu and continued Trevor's story when it was revealed that the real Mandarin had kept him prisoner.
Now, Trevor will return in the upcoming Wonder Man TV series, and according to Sir Ben Kingsley, "Every episode is full of surprises. I don't think it's like anything out there at the moment."
Telling Entertainment Weekly that Wonder Man "is essentially a two-hander" for Trevor and the show's lead, Simon Williams, the actor revealed where we find his character when this story begins.
"He manages to escape from the real Mandarin and from Shang-Chi land, and he flies back into Hollywood to give his career a second chance and to prove to his dear mother Dorothy, who always had faith in him and his talents, that he was truly the actor his mom always hoped he would be and that he always aspired to be."
"And a series of extraordinary events place him exactly in that space, which crowns him and compromises him at the same time," Kingsley continued. "He's pulled in two directions at the same time." As a result, Trevor will be "faced with a terrible dilemma: he can reach his ambition, but it's at a terrible cost. He has a choice to make — it's fascinating."
"[Trevor] sees in Simon a friend, a colleague, but he also sees Simon as someone he can absolutely exploit for his own ends. It's quite a classic, basic human condition story. You are associated with somebody and you have an affinity with that person, but at the same time, you know that you're going to have to exploit that person to get to where you need to be."
While Trevor has alluded to his past on several occasions, it appears Wonder Man will finally explore who this character is beyond his eccentricities and the time he spent as the MCU's "Mandarin." In fact, we may be getting a full-blown origin story!
"[This] series does see Trevor before he got the role of Mandarin, and then of course after, so it's a real biography," the screen icon teased. "It's a biopic of Trevor in four episodes."
You can check out some new stills from Wonder Man below, along with a recent video which sees Simon and Trevor forced to contend with the nonsense that actors face on junkets in the social media age.
In Wonder Man, aspiring Hollywood actor Simon Williams 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 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.
Wonder Man stars Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Ben Kingsley, Arian Moayed, X Mayo, Zlatko Burić, Olivia Thirlby, and Byron Bowers.
The series is written by Andrew Guest, Paul Welsh & Madeline Walter, Zeke Nicholson, Anayat Fakhraie, Roja Gashtili & Julia Lerman, and Kira Talise. Directors on the series include Destin Daniel Cretton, James Ponsoldt, Tiffany Johnson, and Stella Meghie.
Created by Destin Daniel Cretton and Andrew Guest, Wonder Man's executive producers are Kevin Feige, Louis D’Esposito, Stephen Broussard, Jonathan Schwartz, Brad Winderbaum, Destin Daniel Cretton, and Andrew Guest.
Wonder Man premieres on Disney+ on January 26, 2026.