Wonder Man

Name: Wonder Man
Released: 2026

Miniseries

2026

Miniseries

Action

Adventure

Comedy

Fantasy

Science fiction

Hollywood actor Simon Williams is thrust into the world of superheroes as he gets powers of his own and becomes the new superhero Wonder Man.

Not sure why, but my favorite Marvel series are those that don’t feel like Marvel series. (Earlier case in point: WandaVision, which ranked high on my 2021 best-of-year list.) With an eight-episode season (30 minutes each) dropping as a binge, Wonder Man is basically a Hollywood fable couched in superhero lore, both real and metafictional. Emmy winner Yahya Abdul-Mateen II (Watchmen) stars as Simon Williams, a struggling actor whose Method technique verges on madness — his obsessive script notes get him fired from American Horror Story — and who gets an opportunity of a lifetime when he auditions for the title role in a movie version of Marvel’s Wonder Man (a remake of a fictional ’80s hit). Serving as career coach and cheerleader: veteran actor Trevor Slattery (Oscar winner Ben Kingsley, terrific), whose notorious gig impersonating the Mandarin (in Iron Man 3 and Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings) landed him in prison. Trevor has a secret agenda, but Simon’s secret is more dangerous: He has superpowers, which he must keep hidden from studio execs and suspicious agents of the Department of Damage Control. (It’s a nifty metaphor for the closeted private lives of Hollywood celebrities.) The insecurities and anxieties of the acting life threaten to trigger Simon’s latent powers, adding a suspenseful layer to Wonder Man’s cautionary tale of the price of fame. It’s pretty wonderful — as long as you’re not expecting a typical Marvel action romp.