Yahya Abdul-Mateen has reportedly secured the lead role of Simon Williams in the upcoming Disney+ series, Wonder Man.
Simon Williams first appeared in the Marvel universe by way of Stan Lee in 1964. In short, Williams begins his time in the comic book universe as a supervillain who went to war with the Avengers before being reborn and joining the team of superheroes.
“Williams is the son of a wealthy industrialist whose company, Williams Innovations, is run out of business due to competition from Stark Industries. In desperation, Simon turns to Baron Zemo, who gives Simon superpowers and directs him to infiltrate and then betray the Avengers,” a brief description from Variety adds.
“Eventually, however, Simon joins the Avengers in earnest, and is even a founding member of the spin-off team, the West Coast Avengers.”
Williams is not the first superhero portrayed by Abdul-Mateen. Previously, he starred as Dr. Manhattan in the critically-acclaimed HBO series, Watchmen. He also appeared as Black Manta in Aquaman and will return as Black Manta in Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom next year. At this time, Wonder Man is still in pre-production and does not have a release date just yet.
