Hello! I have a bonus post this week that veers into weird TV territory…

All eight episodes of Wonder Man, the metatextual series set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), are out today, January 27, 2026.

I’ve seen the first two episodes already, and the superhero show about the making of a superhero show is more grounded and character-driven than most MCU fare. The two main characters are recovering terrorist/actor Trevor Slattery, played once again by Sir Ben Kingsley, and struggling actor Simon Williams, played by Yahya Abdul-Mateen II (Watchmen, The Matrix Resurrections, Ambulance).

It’s a melancholic but funny series and — for those familiar with Los Angeles and/or showbiz — full of inside jokes: think a less harsh version of The Studio, but some people have superpowers.

Last Friday, The Hollywood Reporter hosted a Q&A panel with Abdul-Mateen, Kingsley, and co-creators Destin Daniel Cretton and Andrew Guest. Here’s a non-spoilery list of things I learned about the making of Wonder Man during that discussion.

During the panel, everyone called Kingsley, “Sir Ben,” so I’m gonna break journalistic standards and do that as well, because I want to and it makes me happy.

Sir Ben, according to Cretton, is “the loveliest human, the most gentle gentleman,” and is also extremely serious about the work. “In the beginning [of a project],” Cretton continued, “he likes to make sure that he is working with people who are going to be as dedicated as he is.”

Abdul-Mateen diplomatically said that the two had an early conversation where he learned that Sir Ben “had a respect for the craft, just an absolute respect for acting.”

Cretton was a bit more transparent about the actors’ first meeting. “I was a bit nervous for Yahya, for that first conversation,” Cretton said. “And so, I loosely told Yahya, ‘Just be prepared.’ And then they had their conversation, and I got on the phone with Yahya, and he said, ‘You didn't tell me what that was going to be like?!’ And I was like, ‘I tried to tell you!’”

Cretton then credits Abdul-Mateen for not being intimidated. He was so ready in fact, that the actor had all his lines memorized for their first table read. “And Sir Ben was just reading,” Abdul-Mateen added with a laugh. “And I was like, ‘Oh yeah, that’s right, [this is just a table read.’]”

“But there’s nothing wrong with having high expectations of one’s colleagues, of you,” Sir Ben replied. “And that’s a compliment that we pay to each other continually.”

There’s no major VFX scenes in Wonder Man (at least not in the first two episodes). And that choice comes from the show’s goal to be more grounded than what we usually see in the MCU.

 “Our pitch really was character-first,” Cretton said. “I think that when people say ‘indie style,’ it typically is an aesthetic that is created to serve the performers. Because when you don't have a lot of money… you don't get your VFX, but what you can get is capture live performances that are surprising. The aesthetic is kind of built around being able to let the actors have as much freedom as you can, and having an environment that can move nimbly. And oftentimes that means, sometimes we're going handheld, sometimes we just keep rolling and go through a few takes. So you can let amazing actors like Sir Ben and Yahya just go.”

The score for Wonder Man is unique to the MCU, and was composed by Joel P. West, who Cretton has worked with on Shang-Chi and other projects. “His assignment was to go weird,” Cretton said.“ That was assignment number one: to not try to do anything that would typically be attributed to a superhero show or movie. And assignment two is something I never have to tell him, because it just naturally happens, which is to capture the heart of the characters. And I think this score is one of the most beautifully interesting, intricate scores of anything that I've done with him.”

The relationship between Trevor and Simon — Sir Ben and Abdul-Mateen’s characters — is the heart of Wonder Man.

“These two characters are selfish and narcissists, but we still have to like them enough, and part of what makes you connect with them is that loneliness, is that melancholy. They're lost and they care,” Guest explained.

Sir Ben also explained how Trevor, who we met as the Mandarin in Iron Man 3 and saw again in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, is at a different point in his life. “Whilst playing the Mandarin, tragically Trevor was on heavy doses of drugs and alcohol and is giving probably his best performance under those circumstances. He had the courage to say, ‘Can I do this without being intoxicated and addicted?’

“So what Andrew and Destin have presented us to as actors is a man who is inventing himself, and a man who is reinventing himself, and there's so many lovely resonances in our characters’ portrayals. That’s why it was almost inevitable, unless you're really clumsy, to make this a duet, because it's written as a duet, but the duet is in the bass notes, Not in the obvious high notes.”

Abdul-Mateen also shared that even though he’s clearly had successes with acting, he still has some of the hunger that Simon has. “I had a Tony nomination, had an Emmy Award, but still was feeling like I haven't done the thing that I want to share,” he said. “I haven't artistically said the thing that I want to say. And that's enough to step into this role and to… tap into a character, a guy with a true, sincere unmet need.”

Yahya mentioned a scene in episode three (this really isn’t a spoiler, don’t worry) as an example. In it, Simon is in a car talking with Trevor. “[Simon] says, ‘I feel like it's never gonna be me… to me that's still attached to some dream that I still have, that I can't wait to get my hands on. So I definitely understand what it's like to feel like nobody sees what I really have to offer, you know? And that's because, personally, I'm still working on something that I believe is special, that the world hasn't seen yet.”

“You hit a nerve in my character,” Sir Ben added, “because my character's also thinking, ‘Will I ever be? Will I ever be?’ He's still thinking that, because of his addiction, ‘Will I ever be clean? And will I ever walk on stage and deliver what my mother always believed I would deliver when I was a child?’ And I think Trevor's response; I know that my inner response to the way you did that line was definitive. It was, ‘Don't say that. I can't bear to hear those words in this car.’ Don't say it, because it was him… it was both of them at the same time.”

All episodes of Wonder Man are now streaming on Disney+. Check it out! Also, please let me know what you think of the show and/or this post!

Thanks again for being a subscriber: I’ll be back on Sunday with more stuff.