See Yahya-Abdul Mateen II As Marvel’s Wonder Man
New fan art speculates what Yahya Abdul-Mateen II may look like as Wonder Man in the upcoming Marvel series.
Last month, the Marvel Cinematic Universe announced that they had cast Yahya-Abdul Mateen II as Simon Williams in the Disney+ upcoming series Wonder Man. Now an artist has imagined what Mateen would look like in the role and has posted their vision for the character on Twitter. The Twitter user with the handle @Marvelicki gives fans of the MCU a first look at what Mateen as Wonder Man could end up looking like.
Though official concept art has not yet been released, fans can get a glimpse of what Yahya-Abdul Mateen II’s Wonder Man might look like through fan art posted online. In Marvelicki’s concept art, the artist imagined Mateen as Wonder Man with the signature glowing eyes that Wonder Man’s character is known for. The red glow is reflected in a sleek black suit, and thin, red lines etch out the letter ‘W’ on the character’s chest. While the Wonder Man in the comics also has a giant red ‘W’ on his chest, the bright white ‘V’ that the artist has depicted Mateen’s Wonder Man with is not standard for the character’s costume in the comic books.
The artist mentioned that this is only one version of the concept art that they have created, and more versions are available on their Patreon account.
It seems that Marvel has found their Wonder Man in the DC Universe since the announcement of Yahya-Abdul Mateen II’s casting was revealed after Mateen played one of Aquaman’s greatest foes, Black Manta, in 2018’s Aquaman. Mateen also appeared in eight episodes of DC’s Watchmen HBO television series and won an Emmy for his role as Carl Abar. Despite joining the MCU, Mateen will continue to appear in DC films and will reprise his role of Black Manta for the Aquaman sequel, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, which is slated for release in December 2023.
Wonder Man will be directed by Destin Daniel Cretton, who is known for directing Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. The series will be written by Andrew Guest, who produced the television shows Brooklyn Nin-Nine and Hawkeye. It has also been announced that Ben Kinglsey will be reprising his role as Trevor Slattery, a.k.a., The Mandarin. Kingsley previously portrayed this role in both Iron Man 3 and Shang-Chi.
Yahya-Abdul Mateen II will portray Simon Williams as Marvel dives into the superhero’s backstory. According to what has been released of the show’s synopsis so far, Simon is an actor in Hollywood who is thrust into the world of superheroes when he gets powers of his own.
In the comic books, Wonder Man has often been a member of the Avengers roster, so it can be expected that once Wonder Man is introduced into the MCU, he will become a major player in the franchise. Wonder Man director, Destin Daniel Cretton, is also directing Avengers: The Kang Dynasty, so it’s possible the character may have a cameo in the film as well. If this is the case, then continuous appearances throughout MCU Phase 6 are very likely.
Yahya-Abdul Mateen II will join the rest of his costars for Wonder Man production in 2023, which means audiences are likely going to be able to watch the series at the beginning of 2024.
