Ben Kingsley Breaks Silence on Returning to the MCU in Wonder Man Disney+ Series

By Jamie Lovett

Ben Kingsley has made his first comments regarding his return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe in Disney+'s upcoming (but still not officially announced) Marvel Studios series Wonder Man. Variety caught up with Kingsley at the Toronto International Film Festival and asked him about his return to the MCU in Wonder Man and what fans should expect from his reprisal of Trevor Slattery. "I think that, if I may humbly speak as an artist and a craftsman, I think our role is to constantly surprise and refresh," Kingsley said in response. "So I hope that I continue to constantly surprise and refresh."

Kingsley debuted as actor Trevor Slattery, masquerading, as the terrorist criminal called the Mandarin, in Iron Man 3. He returned for Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings as a prisoner of Xu Wenwu, the real leader of the Ten Rings organization. At the end of that film, Slattery chose to remain in the mystical hidden city of Ta Lo. However, given he shares an acting background the Simon Williams, the eponymous hero of Wonder Man, it seems likely the two will cross paths in a showbusiness context. Whether that's via flashback or Slattery's return to Hollywood remains to be seen.

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings director Destin Daniel Cretton is an executive producer on the Wonder Man series. According to the initial reports, Slattery will play a major role in the show's plot.

Cretton now has an overall deal with Marvel Studios that will see him return for a sequel to the first Shang-Chi movie, in addition to working on the Wonder Man series. He will also direct Marvel Studios' next Avengers movie, Avengers: The Kang Dynasty. 

Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, and Don Heck created Wonder Man. Imbued with ionic energy by the villainous Baron Zemo, Wonder Man was to infiltrate the Avenger, but he eventually joined the team in earnest. He is one of several characters to compete for the affection of the Scarlet Witch. And became a founding member of the West Coast Avengers when that team spun off from the main group.

James Gunn had cast frequent collaborator Nathan Fillion as Simon Williams for a cameo appearance in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, but that appearance was cut from the finished movie. The deleted scenes revealed Williams' acting roles to include appearances in the films Tony Stark, Arkon, Haxan 2, Oh, Rebecca, Dead Before Arrival, and Toxic Janitor 2.

There's no word on who will play Williams in Wonder Man. As noted, Marvel Studios hasn't officially announced the Wonder Man series, leaving it out of its San Diego Comic-Con and D23 presentations, meaning there's no timeline for production and release known to the public. 

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