The most controversial villain in 16 years of MCU history returns

The most controversial villain in 16 years of MCU history

From Daredevil to Spider-Man: Six new Marvel series will start on Disney+ next year. As the Red Devil of Hell’s Kitchen returns, we can look forward to an animated version of the friendly neighborhood spider. Even zombies now populate the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).

But that wasn’t all.

One of the most exciting Marvel series that awaits us on Disney+ in 2025 is Wonder Man. The story revolves around actor and stuntman Simon Williams, who one day unexpectedly receives superpowers at the hands of none other than Trevor Slattery hits. Wait, who? Yes, Trevor Slattery, the “big” villain from Iron Man 3.

The first moving images from Wonder Man prove: Ben Kingsley is returning in the new Marvel series on Disney+

It remains one of the most controversial twists in the entire MCU to this day: When Iron Man 3 was released eleven years ago, Slattery, played by Ben Kingsley, was announced as the legendary Marvel villain Mandarin. But then it turned out that he is not the real Mandarin, but a failed actor and impostors.

Now Kingsley’s Marvel villain returns alongside Yahya Abdul-Mateen II in Wonder Man. The Marvel series is already marking his second return: In Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, released in 2021, Kingsley once again took on the controversial role that has been discussed by Marvel fans for years.

Was the Mandarin feint a stroke of genius or a huge wasted opportunity? In any case, Trevor Slattery seems to fit perfectly into Wonder Man. Maybe we can even expect the MCU version of the brilliant HBO series Barry, in which a hitman finds a completely new attitude to his life through acting.

The dynamic between Yahya Abdul-Mateen II and Ben Kingsley in the first moving images from Wonder Man is at least some Barry memories become awake, especially with regard to the relationship between Bill Hader, who plays the eponymous contract killer, and Henry Winkler, who takes on the role of the acting teacher.

When does Wonder Man start on Disney+?

Wonder Man starts in December 2025 on Disney+. A specific start date has not yet been set. What we already know is the number of episodes. The Wonder Man series is strong in a total of ten chapters. It was created by Shang-Chi director Daniel Destin Cretton and Andrew Guest, who served as a consulting producer on Hawkeye.

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