Marvel Studios' next Disney+ series is set to break an unfortunate runtime record, according to a new report. The MCU will return to streaming in late January with the release of Wonder Man. The new Hollywood-based superhero comedy is set to be a tongue-in-cheek take on the comic book movie-making machine led by Yahya Abdul-Mateen II's Simon Williams.
The new streaming show will break new ground for the franchise as its first Hollywood-set superhero show, but it will also write its name into the history books in other ways. A new report (via Legado da Marvel) has seemingly revealed that the 2026 Marvel show will be the shortest live-action Disney+ show from Marvel Studios in terms of average episode length.
According to the new report, the series will average a lean 31 minutes per episode across its eight entries. This surpasses the previous record holder, She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, which averaged 34.3 minutes per episode.
Wonder Man will also take hold of the record for both the shortest overall episode (at 23 minutes) and the shortest longest episode of a season (31 minutes) for a live-action MCU Disney+ series. Additionally, the series will be the first MCU series to release all eight episodes simultaneously on the Disney-owned service.
See the full reported Wonder Man episode lengths below:
- Episode 1: 32 minutes
- Episode 2: 32 minutes
- Episode 3: 32 minutes
- Episode 4: 30 minutes
- Episode 5: 23 minutes
- Episode 6: 34 minutes
- Episode 7: 33 minutes
- Episode 8: 32 minutes
Wonder Man follows the misadventures of aspiring actor Simon Williams (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) as he attempts to get cast in a new big-name superhero reboot. Mateen is joined by MCU veteran Ben Kingsley in the new streaming series, with Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings sitting in the director's chair. Wonder Man will be released on Disney+ on January 27, 2026.
Why Wonder Man's Lean Runtime Might Be a Good Thing
Wonder Man's shorter runtime may actually be a good thing for the series. Typically, Marvel's Disney+ content has been between 40 and 50 minutes per episode, with some episodes running as long as an hour. Wonder Man will come in significantly below that, but it could be for a good reason.
The new series appears to be something entirely different from the rest of the brand's streaming catalog. While the MCU has taken a stab at everything from legal comedies to prestige HBO dramas, Wonder Man will be nothing like that.
This appears to be an attempt to capture some of the energy of big-budget multicamera comedies like Arrested Development, Curb Your Enthusiasm, and Apple TV+'s acclaimed The Studio.
A shorter average episode runtime is not always a bad thing. It is just a matter of whether the series can make the best of that time. A half-hour hyper-focused comedy poking fun at Hollywood could be a fun new addition to the MCU canon, telling its own standalone story that happens to take place in the super-powered universe.
One of the best things that Marvel's biggest competitor in the DCU has done is not falling into any specific mould for its movie and TV projects (at least yet). Wonder Man could be Marvel Studios' showing that it, too, wants to explore the bounds of the medium.
