According to Destin Daniel Cretton, the creator of ‘Wonder Man,’ the show didn’t come out of his mind as a classic Marvel project at first. On the contrary, the idea behind it was formed in the process of work on a completely different project – ‘Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.’ Later, it turned out to be one of the most original Marvel shows recently.
“The genesis of the idea actually sprouted when we were on the set of Shang Chi and I just loved working with Sir Ben [Kingsley] and I really loved his character… So I did a joke pitch to my producer Jonathan Schwartz and said ‘We should do Trevor Goes To Hollywood.’
Then when we were really pitching the show we found out that Wonder Man was also being developed around what would a show be like in the MC Hollywood. Those two ideas collided and that’s when Andrew [Guest] came in and helped us create the real vibe of the show.”
How Marvel’s “colliding ideas” gave birth to ‘Wonder Man.’
Trevor Slattery, the main character created by Ben Kingsley, played an essential role in the formation of the show’s idea. During the development of the show ‘Shang-Chi’, Destin Daniel Cretton and his producer joked about developing a spin-off dedicated to the adventures of Trevor Slattery in the Hollywood movie industry. Later, Marvel Studios announced that it was developing a separate show based on the Marvel Cinematic Universe Hollywood. It was to tell about Simon Williams, aka Wonder Man.
It was the merging of two concepts mentioned above that helped Destin Daniel Cretton and showrunner Andrew Guest develop the idea of ‘Wonder Man’. The life story of Simon Williams (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) became the key element of the series, while the strange appearance of Trevor Slattery added some uniqueness to the plot.
Released on January 27, 2026, the TV show gained high ratings among critics and now scores 91% on Rotten Tomatoes. Wonder Man relies heavily on the performance and satire of the entertainment industry, as shown in one of the most crucial elements of its plot – the ban on working in Hollywood for the superpowers. Season 1 ends with a drastic change in characters’ relationships, providing a basis for a continuation of the show.