Ben Kingsley is set to return to his MCU role as Trevor Slattery in the upcoming Disney Plus series Wonder Man, according to Variety. Shang-Chi director Destin Daniel Cretton will be heading up the series, and it looks likely that Daniel Bruhl’s Marvel villain Baron Zemo will have a significant role to play. Bruhl’s casting has not yet been confirmed, and neither has the casting of Wonder Man himself.
Kingsley initially appeared in the MCU as the main villain of Iron Man 3 (2013), The Mandarin. He was later revealed to be actor Trevor Slattery who had been hired to play the role. He cropped up again in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021) as a prisoner of the real Mandarin, Shang-Chi’s father (played by Tony Chiu-Wai Leung).
Slattery being an actor fits in with the world of Wonder Man, as his alter-ego Simon Williams is a celebrity due to his day job as an actor and stuntman. This is probably how the characters will cross paths in the series. Cretton is also developing Shang-Chi 2, and it’s not yet known if Wonder Man or the movie sequel will come first.
Marvel is clearly all-in on Cretton, as he will also direct Avengers: The Kang Dynasty. This is some way off, hopefully giving him time to make Shang-Chi 2 first. Sir Ben Kingsley is gently poking fun at himself via the character of Trevor Slattery, as Kingsley has been a thespian of the British stage and screen for decades.
Surprisingly, Wonder Man is one of Marvel’s oldest characters, first introduced in 1964. In the 1980s the character really came into his own with a look that included a turtleneck, a red jacket and sunglasses. The character also developed strong ties to Vision and Wanda/Scarlet Witch, which could be way of bringing these two characters back after WandaVision. He also has the potential to crossover to Agatha: Coven of Chaos (which is a WandaVision spin-off).
While we wait for more news about Wonder Man, and Phase 5 and 6 of the MCU, check out our guide to Marvel’s Phase 4.