Marvel’s “Wonder Man” | Disney+ Original Review

January 23, 2026 Roger Palmer

The first major release from Marvel Studios in 2026 is “Wonder Man”, which tells the story of an aspiring Hollywood actor called Simon Williams, who is struggling to get his career off the ground. During a chance meeting with Trevor Slattery, an actor whose biggest roles may be well behind him, Simon learns legendary director Von Kovak is remaking the superhero film “Wonder Man.” These two actors, at opposite ends of their careers, doggedly pursue life-changing roles in this film as audiences get a peek behind the curtain of the entertainment industry.

This new eight-episode series is being released under the “Marvel Spotlight” banner, which is supposed to be a way of telling audiences that this is a standalone project that doesn’t require any additional viewing from the larger MCU. However, I would suggest that watching “Iron Man 3” is at least beneficial, as this show basically feels like a sequel for Trevor, aka The Mandarin.

“Wonder Man” is a strange show, and to use the stereotypical catchphrase to explain, “this is unlike anything we’ve seen so far in the Marvel Cinematic Universe”. The main focus of the storyline is watching Simon Williams go through the stages of trying to get the job of playing “Wonder Man”. We get to see him go through the audition process and live his life as an unsuccessful actor in Los Angeles, along with his interactions with his family.

Hollywood often misunderstands the general public’s interest in making movies and TV shows, while to them, this is a normal way of life. Outside the entertainment business, people don’t really care, and this show, unfortunately, spends way too long trying to tell a simple backstory that could be done within minutes. There’s one weird black & white episode in the middle of the show dedicated to explaining the backstory as to why Hollywood won’t employ actors with superheroes, which also could have been explained in less than a sentence. There is also a celebrity “cameo” joke that just goes on for way too long, which sums up this whole project of being made for people who work in the entertainment industry.

If you are looking for an action-packed superhero adventure, “Wonder Man” is going to be a massive disappointment. As there are literally only a few short scenes where we actually get to see Simon use his powers, and they never explain where his powers actually come from. There’s also no big villain for Simon to face off with, while there is some threat from Damage Control, it never feels like he’s in any danger.

Without doubt, the buddy relationship between Simon and Trevor is the cornerstone of this show, and their friendship building over the episodes is what makes it worthwhile watching. The TV show format allows them have that extra time to develop those characters and lets audiences connect better with them, which kept me watching. This is what the show is all about, if you like their dynamic, you’ll really going to enjoy “Wonder Man”.

“Wonder Man” is a textbook example of a show that was dreamed up during an era when Marvel Studios was tasked with making as many shows for Disney+ as possible, but was actually created during an era when Marvel’s budget was drastically lower than that of other Disney+ shows. I can’t help but think that this show would not be greenlit today. In a world of superhero fatigue, this feels like a project that is just adding to that, as I just don’t think the mainstream audience is going to enjoy this show. It’s different, but it’s almost too different.

While this series consists of eight episodes, I was able to binge them all in one sitting in an evening, because each episode is about 30 minutes long, but by the time you take out the credits, intro logos and the “previously on” segments, the episodes are barely 20 minutes long. But even that feels too long. This whole series could have been a 90-minute TV movie, had they cut back on so much of the unnecessary filler. It’s not surprising now to see that the show is getting a binge drop on Disney+, rather than a weekly release, because most of the audience wouldn’t be returning after a couple of weeks. There were several times during the middle part of the series, when I started to get bored because the pacing felt so slow, though it did pick up in the last couple of episodes.

There was one shocking moment in the show that did make me generally excited (you’ll know it when you see it), but I thought it was about to pick up the pace as it headed into its final act, and it kinda just fizzled out.

Over the years, we’ve seen Marvel try so many different shows, and I do think “Wonder Man” stands out as something very different. We’ve seen many different takes on superhero stories over the years and I think Marvel has done a great job in mixing things up with its projects over the years, but because “Wonder Man” doesn’t follow the typical superhero formula, such as doing the traditional storyline of a big evil villain, a global threat to destroy the world, or have the stereotypical mirror superpowered fight at the end. But by avoiding all of the traditional superhero tropes, it doesn’t feel like Marvel.

Overall: Unfortunately, “Wonder Man” to me was a disappointing entry into the MCU. I was looking forward to a new show with a new superhero I didn’t know, and setting it in Hollywood was hopefully going to make it feel a little unique to the typical New York crimefighter.

Sadly, “Wonder Man” just never lives up to the name, as anyone coming into this show hoping to see your typical action-packed superhero adventure will likely be disappointed. I also doubt we will ever see this character on our screens again, but I’m really glad Disney took the risk on trying something completely different, and the chemistry between the main characters is enjoyable. I’m glad I’ve seen “Wonder Man” and would easily recommend Marvel fans check it out.

Rating: 3.5 Out Of 5