A new report has revealed a bit more of the Wonder Man cast for the upcoming Marvel Cinematic Universe Disney+ TV show.
According to Above the Line’s Jeff Sneider on The Hot Mic podcast, Josh Gad (Frozen, Beauty and the Beast) has joined the Wonder Man cast in an as-of-yet undisclosed role. Sneider didn’t mention any potential role, but co-host John Rocha potentially floated the idea of Gad playing the agent of Yahya Abdul-Mateen II’s Simon Williams.
Gad is best known for starring in the hit Disney animated film Frozen as the snowman Olaf. However, the actor has starred in a litany of popular films and television series, including Disney’s live-action Beauty and the Beast film, Murder on the Orient Express, Ghostbusters: Afterlife, and more. Up next for Gad is a starring role in the 2023 animated comedy film Strays.
The Wonder Man series is being developed by Destin Daniel Cretton (Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings) and writer-producer Andrew Guest (Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Community), with Guest serving as the head writer and Cretton executive producing and directing some episodes. The project will be a part of Cretton’s overall deal with the studio. In addition to Cretton, The Photograph filmmaker Stella Meghie will also be directing multiple episodes.
The Disney+ series will be led by Emmy winner Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as Simon Williams/Wonder Man. In addition to Abdul-Mateen, the Wonder Man cast includes Demetrius Grosse as Eric Williams/Grim Reaper, Ben Kingsley as Trevor Slattery, Ed Harris as Neal Saroyan, Lauren Glazier, and Josh Gad.
Wonder Man is one of the oldest characters in Marvel’s long history and was first introduced in 1964 in an early issue of Avengers. The character — named Simon Williams — was created by Stan Lee, Don Heck, and Jack Kirby. He was initially introduced as a supervillain who fought the Avengers.
In the late 1970s, Wonder Man was turned into a hero and eventually ended up joining the Avengers throughout various iterations of the team. Imbued with “ionic” energy by Baron Zemo, Wonder Man has powers similar to other superheroes, including enhanced strength, speed, stamina, durability, reflexes, and agility.
