Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul star Bob Odenkirk is rumored to be up for a role in Mavel’s Wonder Man series on Disney+. Like most Marvel Studios castings, who Odenkirk would be playing in Wonder Man is not known; sources close to Illuminerdi are claiming that Odenkirk is up for the role of the manager to Simon Williams, aka Wonder Man. The distinguishing twist in Wonder Man’s story is that he isn’t just a superhero but also a famous actor, whose career rises with superpowered status.
The other twist is that Wonder Man has been both a villain and a hero in Marvel lore – he’s also died and been resurrected, which is a major part of his story. With all of that on the table, finding someone like Bob Odenkirk – who is iconic for playing a shady lawyer – would be a very good get for Wonder Man.
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Who Is Bob Odenkirk Playing in Marvel’s Wonder Man?
The immediate theory is that Odenkirk could be playing Neal Saroyan from Marvel Comics lore. Neal was Simon Williams’ manager in the 1990s Wonder Man comics, as Simon navigated his acting career. Saroyan took a villainous turn in his arc, as it was revealed he was a schemer who had the ability to psychically influence others. Saroyan remained a more obscure Marvel villain until he was officially killed off in the final issue of the the 2007 Wonder Man comics (vol. 3).
Again, there’s no confirmation of who Bob Odenkirk would play in Wonder Man, but a version of Neal Saroyan would make all the sense in the world. Neal using Simon Williams’ super-powered status to make a buck would be very much in keeping with with Saul Goodman – and it would be delicious fun to se him go even darker with the eventual reveal of being a true villain. Odenkirk also recently starred in the action film Nobody, which only showed that he has serious action skills to go along with his dramatic gravitas and comedic timing.
Wonder Man has cast Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as the titular Wonder Man. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings director Destin Daniel Cretton is set to direct one (or more) episodes of of the show.
Did Wonder Man Already Apper in the MCU?
Wonder Man was once supposed to make an MCU cameo in 2017’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, with writer-director James Gunn casting Nathan Fillion in the role. Fillion’s Wonder Man was supposed to briefly appear in a series of movie posters during a sequence on Earth, but the visuals were ultimately cut from the film.
“I really do love the character of Simon Williams/Wonder Man in the comics – a sometimes douchey actor/superhero – and could see Nathan clearly in that role (not because he’s a douchebag but because he’s great at playing one),” Gunn once shared on his Facebook page. “But, of course, in a movie set 99.9% in space I didn’t really have a place for him. So in a small flash to earth I decided to put a theater playing a ‘Simon Williams Film Festival,’ with six Simon Williams movie posters outside…. Unfortunately, the small section of the scene where they appeared slowed down the movie and I had to cut the Easter eggs from the film… Equally a bummer was that a lot of people took photos of these posters on the day so suddenly every fan site was reporting that Nathan was playing Wonder Man in he movie. He was even the third-billed actor on IMDB!”
Now Wonder Man is getting his proper MCU debut – and Bob Odenkirk may be backing him.
Wonder Man is currently in development for Disney+.
