MCU’s Wonder Man star Yahya Abdul-Mateen II recently spoke about how Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige convinced him to take on the role. The actor admitted he was reluctant to accept it until he spoke with Feige, who won him over with a single sentence.
Yahya Abdul-Mateen II on how speaking to Kevin Feige convinced him for Marvel
During his appearance on Josh Horowitz’s Happy Sad Confused podcast, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II recalled his conversation with the Marvel Studios President, Kevin Feige, that convinced him to accept the role of Wonder Man.
After someone, seemingly his agent, pitched Wonder Man to him, and how Destin Daniel Cretton (the showrunner) would approach the character, the Emmy-winning actor liked the work but insisted on talking to Feige.
The Aquaman star’s request might not be anything out of the ordinary. However, he did have a reasonable explanation for his persistence. “This is what I said, ‘This sounds like a great opportunity. But I only get one Marvel dollar to spend… and I want to make sure that I spend it well,” the actor explained his thought process. He added that it was a “huge gamble” to take on the role and was even ready to sit on the sidelines until the time was right.
Although they told him the Marvel executive was busy, Abdul-Mateen II emphasized the importance of speaking with him. He eventually connected with the Marvel Studios’ head. “[Feige] let me know that it’ll be a dollar well spent,” the actor shared.
The 39-year-old actor appeared relieved to hear it. He then also took a moment to pitch himself as “funny.” To his surprise, Feige also seemed to have thought the same thing. “I don’t know what he saw that let him know that I was funny, that I had some comedy out there,” the actor explained. “I said, ‘People don’t know that I’m funny.’ He says, ‘Yes…’ It was just fantastic. It was very important for me to make it count.”
Everything worked out in the end because Wonder Man was not only successful, but a Season 2 is already in the works. All eight episodes of Wonder Man Season 1 are now streaming on Disney+.
