Yahya Abdul-Mateen II on Why He Wanted to Make 'Wonder Man' One of Marvel's Best

At first, Wonder Man seemed like an oddball choice for a Marvel Studios TV series. The title character hadn’t appeared in the Marvel Cinematic Universe before, and the other main character was… Trevor Slattery, the faux Mandarin, who’d previously popped up in Iron Man 3 and Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. But when the show arrived in January, fans realized Wonder Man was exactly what the MCU needed: a funny, heartfelt tale of an unlikely friendship that plays out against the backdrop of Hollywood and secret superheroes. Three big reasons the show worked so well: Oscar winner Ben Kingsley returned as Trevor. Shang-Chi director Destin Daniel Cretton (who has Spider-Man: Brand New Day coming in July) co-created and co-directed it. And Yahya Abdul-Mateen II played the role of struggling actor James Williams, aka Wonder Man. In real life, Abdul-Mateen is about as far from a struggling actor as you can get. He rose to fame almost immediately after breaking out a decade ago, appearing in Black Mirror, Watchmen, Aquaman and its sequel, Candyman, The Matrix Resurrections, and more. One of the few roles he wasn’t cast in, apparently, was M’Baku in Marvel’s Black Panther, which wen