Wonder Man Disney+ Series to Be Under New Marvel Spotlight Banner

Marvel's Wonder Man Disney+ series will reportedly fall under the studio's new Marvel Spotlight banner. The existence of Marvel Spotlight was first revealed during the opening marketing for Echo, another Disney+ series starring Alaqua Cox's character from Hawkeye. Projects falling under this banner won't tie as closely to the larger Marvel Cinematic Universe, allowing its creators more storytelling possibilities without having to worry about setting up future MCU series or movies. With Destin Daniel Cretton reportedly stepping away from his directorial duties on Avengers: The Kang Dynasty, it appears Wonder Man will join Echo as a Marvel Spotlight original series.

"Wonder Man will be under the new Marvel Spotlight series banner, which are shows that are standalone series and not part of the greater Marvel Cinematic Universe," a report from Deadline reads. This doesn't mean that Wonder Man won't have appearances from characters in the comics. Fans just don't need to be as well-versed in all MCU topics and keep up with each project to know what's going on in a Marvel Spotlight project.

What is Marvel Spotlight?

The name Marvel Spotlight originates from a Marvel Comics anthology series of the same name, which ran across the 1970s and 1980s and led to many characters' debuts.

"Marvel Spotlight gives us a platform to bring more grounded, character-driven stories to the screen, and in the case of Echo, focusing on street-level stakes over larger MCU continuity," Marvel Studios Head of Streaming Brad Winderbaum explained during an Echo event. "Just like comics fans didn't need to read Avengers or Fantastic Four to enjoy a Ghost Rider Spotlight comic, our audience doesn't need to have seen other Marvel series to understand what's happening in Maya's story." 

Who is playing Marvel's Wonder Man?

Yahya Abdul-Mateen II (Aquaman, Candyman) is set to star as Simon Williams in Wonder Man. He has ionic superpowers and is a stuntman/actor in his civilian life when he's not a member of the Avengers. Deadline reports Wonder Man will resume filming following Thanksgiving after production was shut down due to the writers' strike.

Wonder Man also stars Demetrius Grosse as Grim Reaper, Ben Kingsley as Trevor Slattery, and Lauren Glazier in a currently unknown role. Andrew Guest serves as showrunner, and Destin Daniel Cretton will remain on the series as an executive producer while directing the first two episodes.