A forthcoming MCU project for Disney+ will fall under the studio’s new Spotlight banner.
After 15 years, there’s no denying that the Marvel Cinematic Universe has a significant amount of established continuity. With over 30 films and multiple seasons of television, it can be tough for newcomers to the franchise to find that perfect “jumping-on” point.
This is why Marvel debuted a new heading for specific offerings: Marvel Studios Spotlight. This new category contains MCU projects that don’t have a ton of continuity baggage and can easily be picked up and watched without any prior knowledge. The first of the Spotlight shows is Echo, and the next has already been confirmed.
MCU’s Second Spotlight Project Revealed
According to Deadline, the MCU's Wonder Man will be a part of the Marvel Studios Spotlight initiative. This marks the second MCU show to be announced as a Spotlight series after Echo.
Wonder Man, which stars Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as the titular character, was in production prior to the Hollywood strikes. It will reportedly resume filming shortly after Thanksgiving despite previous claims that the series had been scrapped.
How Wonder Man Will Still Have MCU Ties
With the announcement that Wonder Man is a Marvel Studios Spotlight series, it is expected to be largely standalone, but that doesn’t mean that it won’t be set within the MCU.
It’s previously been indicated that Wonder Man will serve as a sort of Hollywood satire. This is appropriate given the fact that Wonder Man himself, Simon Williams, was an actor before he gained his superpowers.
And who else is an actor in the MCU? None other than Ben Kingsley’s Trevor Slattery, who made his presence known in 2013’s Iron Man 3 before resurfacing in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings eight years later.
The frequently drunk, washed-up thespian was confirmed to be making an appearance in Wonder Man, firmly connecting the show to the wider MCU.
The intent of the Spotlight projects doesn’t seem to be to cordon off the characters and exclude them from the larger canon. After all, Echo has direct tethers to the events of Hawkeye. Marvel Studios likely introduced Spotlights to make certain projects more accessible to wider audiences.
Marvel Studios’ Wonder Man is currently without an officially announced release date.
