Yahya Abdul-Mateen II is to join the Marvel Cinematic Universe with Wonder Man.
According to Variety the Aquaman actor is in talks to lead the Disney+ series Wonder Man as Simon Williams, the character who turns into the titular superhero.
Destin Daniel Cretton (Creed, Shang-Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings) is developing the television series alongside writer Andrew Guest.
It falls under Cretton’s ongoing deal with Marvel Studios and Onyx Collective, which will see the filmmaker direct 2025’s Avengers: The Kang Dynasty as well as a forthcoming Shang-Chi sequel.
A description of the character obtained by the publication reads: “In the comic books, Williams is the son of a wealthy industrialist whose company, Williams Innovations, is run out of business due to competition from Stark Industries.
“In desperation, Simon turns to Baron Zemo, who gives Simon superpowers and directs him to infiltrate and then betray the Avengers. Eventually, however, Simon joins the Avengers in earnest, and is even a founding member of the spin-off team, the West Coast Avengers.”
Abdul-Mateen said earlier this year that acting in Aquaman films is like “clown work”.
Describing his wide range of acting gigs, Abdul-Mateen spoke of his work as David Kane/Manta in the DC franchise.
“Everything should be about getting to the truth,” Abdul-Mateen said, discussing Aquaman as well as Aaron Sorkin’s Trial Of The Chicago 7 and his forthcoming role in the play Topdog/Underdog on Broadway.
“But sometimes you got to know which movie or genre you’re in,” he continued. “Something like Aquaman, that’s clown work. Aquaman is not The Trial Of The Chicago 7. You have got to get over yourself.”
The actor added: “In order to survive [as an actor] and to do it well, you have to play that game and then be crafty about when you want to surprise the audience, the director, or yourself with a little bit of ‘Wow, I didn’t expect to see a Chekhovian thing or August Wilson and Aquaman, but I did.’ ”
