Wonder Man: Is Disney’s new Marvel show worth your time?

Marvel has released a brand new series on Disney Plus that many fans didn’t even realise was on its way – but is it worth watching?

Wonder Man is a new eight-part series from Shang-Chi director Destin Daniel Cretton and sitcom writer Andrew Guest, whose previous credits include 30 Rock, Community and Brooklyn Nine-Nine.

It’s the 17th TV series released as part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) label since 2019’s WandaVision, and is based on the Marvel Comics character first introduced in 1964.

Yahya Abdul-Mateen II plays the lead character of Simon Williams, an anxiety-ridden jobbing actor desperate to be revered, who auditions for the lead role in the remake of the beloved superhero film Wonder Man.

He soon meets Ben Kingsley’s Trevor Slattery – the actor who played the Mandarin in Iron Man 3 – who may or may not have been recruited by the DODC (Department of Damage Control) to unearth a dangerous secret harboured by Simon. But before too long, the pair strike up an unlikely friendship.

The Independent’s Chief Film & TV correspondent Jacob Stolworthy has watched the show – and you can find his verdict below.

Wonder Man has only been depicted on screen once before, in the two-season animated series Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes, in which he was voiced by Phil LaMarr.

This new series, Wonder Man, marks both the first standalone story centred on the characters, and is Abdul-Mateen II’s Marvel debut.

The 39-year-old actor is best known for roles as Morpheus in The Matrix Resurrections (2021), Black Manta in the Aqauman franchise (2018-23), and he received acclaim in 2019 for his role in Damon Lindelof’s HBO series Watchmen (2019).

Speaking about showing his vulnerable side in Wonder Man, Mateen II told Refinery29: “It was really gratifying, and sometimes scary at the same time, to show that vulnerability, to show that anxiety, to show what it looks like to not be sure of myself at all but still have to proceed.”

The actor will next play CIA officer-turned-bodyguard Creasy in a TV remake of 2004 action film Man on Fire, which starred Denzel Washington. Wonder Man is available to stream now.

Wonder Man is available to stream on Disney Plus now.