“Calm down, mate. I’m not dead, it’s just a performance!”
In a cinematic universe full of endless possibilities of old characters returning thanks to the multiverse, a different return that won’t be needing the multiverse has been announced. In somewhat surprising news, Ben Kingsley is set to reprise his role as Trevor Slattery in the Wonder Man Disney+ series, according to Variety.
The Wonder Man series was first announced to be in the works back in June of this year by The Hollywood Reporter with Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings director Destin Daniel Cretton — who was recently announced to helm Avengers: The Kang Dynasty — and Andrew Guest teaming up to bring the project to life. Guest will be taking the role of head writer of the series, with Cretton executive producing, with a chance that he directs an episode or two.
Kingsley made his MCU debut in Iron Man 3 as Slattery, an actor posing as the villainous Mandarin. More recently, Kingsley reprised his role in Shang-Chi, directed by Cretton, which saw him tag along with the team during the final battle and will now make his second return as the character in the upcoming Wonder Man series. Per Variety’s Joe Otterson, there is a chance that the Wonder Man series could be a satire of Hollywood which would further justify the return of Slattery. In his prior two MCU appearances, we learn that Slattery is a failed actor himself — though he gives quite the performance in the final battle of Shang-Chi.
Outside the MCU, Kingsley is an iconic actor that has been nominated for four Academy Awards and won one for Best Actor in a Leading Role for his performance in 1982’s Gandhi. Other roles of his include Steven Spielberg’s Schindler’s List and Martin Scorsese’s Shutter Island and Hugo.
While there is still plenty of time before the Wonder Man series sees the light of day, there are plenty of upcoming projects for MCU fans to look forward to. There are still a number of episodes remaining for the She-Hulk series, The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special and the feature film Black Panther: Wakanda Forever set for release this year. In 2023, there are four films set to release, including Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania and The Marvels alongside five series including the second seasons of What If? and Loki, and new series like Secret Invasion.
