Wonder Man: How a “Mazaq” Pitch Became Marvel’s Latest Hit!

Ever thought a massive Marvel series could actually kick off with a “just kidding” moment? Well, buckle up, because that’s exactly how Wonder Man, one of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s recent hits on Disney+, came into existence!

Destin Daniel Cretton, the brilliant mind behind Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, recently spilled the beans on the early days of the show. Before he became a director, writer, and executive producer for Wonder Man, he actually helped sell the project – even though his original idea wasn’t meant to be taken seriously at all!

Turns out, the whole concept spun out of Cretton’s absolute love for Sir Ben Kingsley’s character, Trevor Slattery. You remember him, right? The hilarious actor who pretended to be The Mandarin in Iron Man 3 and later popped up again in Shang-Chi. Slattery has always been a standout, providing quick laughs for MCU fans, and Cretton felt he was seriously underutilized.

“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, as Trevor Slattery] and I really loved his character,” Cretton shared. “So I did a joke pitch to my producer Jonathan Schwartz and said ‘We should do Trevor Goes To Hollywood.'”

What started as a laugh quickly got serious. Cretton added, “The joke pitch kind of escalated because [Schwartz], as a joke, made a poster with our art department of Trevor Goes to Hollywood with Trevor Slattery in a convertible and it looked 1980s. And I thought we have to do this show!” And just like that, a ‘mazaq’ became a real project!

Unlike many other MCU shows that throw superheroes into epic battles, Wonder Man takes a different, rather refreshing, route. It puts the superpowers on the back burner, focusing more on Simon Williams (played by Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) and Trevor Slattery as they try to make it as actors in the chaotic world of Hollywood.

And guess what? This unique approach totally paid off! Wonder Man recently got the green light for a second season on Disney+! That’s a huge deal, considering it’s one of only three MCU shows on the platform to actually get a follow-up season. Most of them are usually one-and-done, like Loki or Hawkeye expanding their stories, or introducing new heroes like Moon Knight and Ms. Marvel.

Executive producer Andrew Guest revealed that this was a creative risk for Marvel, an “underground project” that the people at Marvel truly believed in. It was the perfect combination of Cretton’s hilarious ‘joke pitch’ and Marvel’s existing interest in creating a story set in Hollywood that brought Wonder Man to life.

While there’s no official release date for Wonder Man Season 2 just yet, knowing how this unique series came to be makes us even more excited to see what hilarious shenanigans Trevor and Simon get into next!