Ben Kingsley will reprise the role of Trevor Slattery in the upcoming Disney Plus series Wonder Man from Marvel Studios. Trevor Slattery (Ben Kingsley) made his first appearance in the 2013 film, Iron Man 3. He was originally portrayed as the villain known as the Mandarin; however, he was really an out of work actor hired by the real big bad, Aldrich Killian. From there, Kingsley reprised the role in a Marvel One-Shot titled All Hail the King. He reprised the role yet again in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, where he was imprisoned by the real Mandarin, Wenwu.
Although there has been no official announcement regarding a Wonder Man series, it’s not a surprise that Marvel would have it in the works. Wonder Man made his first appearance in Marvel Comics The Avengers #9 in October 1964. His real name is Simon Williams and he got his powers from chemical and radiation treatments with ionic energy. Baron Zemo was the cause of William’s transformation into Wonder Man and his goal was to make him stronger than the Avengers. He succeeded and Simon gained incredible abilities. Over the course of the character’s history, he has been both an Avenger and a villain, but he usually has a moral code. Wonder Man was also at one time a movie star, which leads us back to Marvel’s favorite failed actor, Trevor Slattery.
Variety is reporting that Ben Kingsley will reprise the role of Trevor Slattery in the future MCU Disney Plus Series, Wonder Man. The show is reportedly a Hollywood Satire, and since Trevor Slattery was once an actor, we can surmise that Slattery will be a part of that world. Marvel has been very hush-hush regarding the show, but given that we already know what Phase 5 will entail, Wonder Man will likely be a part of Phase 6 - which kicks off with Fantastic Four on Nov. 8, 2024.
Ben Kingsley is one of the finest actors working today and it makes sense Marvel would want him to keep coming back. He does a great job with the character, I’ll admit. When he appeared in Iron Man 3, I was excited to see the Mandarin. The twist that the Mandarin was actually Trevor Slattery left a sour taste in my mouth that I haven’t been able to shake. Maybe it’s the entitled nerd in me but I’m just not that excited to see Trevor Slattery again. As I said previously, Kingsley is a treasure, but the character doesn’t do anything for me. Maybe I’ll change my mind once Wonder Man comes out, but until then, I remain indifferent.
Source: Variety
