Yahya Abdul-Mateen II is ready to pull double duty in the superhero arena after landing the role of Wonder Man in Marvel‘s new Disney+ series. Mateen II, who plays Manta in DC’s Aquaman franchise, will star as the lead hero in Marvel’s new series from director Destin Daniel Cretton and writer Andrew Guest.
Wonder Man is one of Marvel’s oldest characters, dating back to 1964 in the pages of Avengers #9. He began his comic book career as a villain but got reintroduced as a hero in the late 1970s. Wonder Man’s civilian name is Simon Williams, and he was a founding member of the Los Angeles-based West Coast Avengers. As an actor and stuntman, Williams’ look included wearing a turtleneck, a red jacket, and sunglasses. Wonder Man strongly relates to Marvel characters Vision and Wanda/Scarlet Witch. The trio shared several adventures, with Wonder Man and Vision thinking of each other as brothers in action. After Vision was dismantled, The villain-turned-hero developed intense feelings for Wanda. Whether Marvel plans to introduce Mateen II’s character as a potential love interest for Wanda remains to be seen. However, now that Marvel is working on Vision Quest, focusing on Paul Bettany’s Vision, we may get to see this complicated love triangle play out.
Previously, Marvel revealed Sir Ben Kingsley’s Trevor Slattery is returning in the Wonder Man series. Tonally, I have no idea what this show will be like or how Mateen II will play the character. Some fans argue Mateen II is “too fine” to play Wonder Man, causing many to ponder Marvel’s choice of actor. At least Mateen II is an exciting choice. He’s an actor who brings a lot of gravitas to his roles, and I can’t wait to see what he does with Wonder Man.
If you want to see Mateen II strut his stuff, check out Nia DaCosta’s excellent Candyman remake, Michael Bay’s Ambulance, or head to a theater when Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom swims into cinemas.