In the new trailer for the new Marvel Television series Wonder Man, an actor named Simon Williams is trying for the role of a lifetime. Unfortunately he discovers that he actually does have superpowers, and that’s a huge problem.

That’s Simon Williams, an ambitious actor who is being closely watched by the Department of Damage Control. They have no idea what he’s capable of, and as it turns out, neither does he.

The official series synopsis reads: “In Wonder Man, aspiring Hollywood actor Simon Williams 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.”

Simon goes to Trevor Slattery (played by Ben Kingsley, the same actor who pretended to be the Mandarin in Iron Man 3). Slattery works with Williams to coach him and help him along with his career, using whatever influence he has left, but that’s not the whole story. He’s also sharing information on Williams to Agent Cleary and the Department of Damage Control.

We don’t get to see everything Simon Williams can do, but we do get the reveal that he’s got superstrength, and at least some level of durability or he’d break his body parts when he tried to use it. In the comics, Wonder Man has flight, superhuman speed, strength and durability, plus enhanced senses, the ability to create energy constructs similar to a Green Lantern, force fields, the ability to change his size at will, teleportation and limited shape-shifting. This would make him one of the most formidable characters in the entire Marvel Universe, comparable to Thor, Thanos, Red Hulk and She-Hulk, and the Sentry.

How this eager young actor copes with all of this and how he gets his powers in the first place is going to be an interesting tale. Exactly how powerful they make Wonder Man in this series is another question. Nearly omnipotent characters are really hard to write for, and Marvel usually errs on the side of caution when confronted with this problem, as they did with 2022’s Ms. Marvel.

The cast is led by Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as Simon Williams and Ben Kingsley returning as Trevor Slattery. They’re joined by Arian Moayed, X Mayo, Zlatko Buri?, Olivia Thirlby, and Byron Bowers.

All eight episodes of Wonder Man will be dropped at once on Disney+. This didn’t work all that well with the Hawkeye spinoff series Echo, but that may have been more because that character was third tier than because of the release strategy.

The series is written by Andrew Guest, Paul Welsh & Madeline Walter, Zeke Nicholson, Anayat Fakhraie, Roja Gashtili & Julia Lerman, and Kira Talise. Directing duties are split between Destin Daniel Cretton, James Ponsoldt, Tiffany Johnson, and Stella Meghie.

Wonder Man makes its premiere on Disney+ on January 26, 2026.