Photos/Videos: A Talk with the Cast and Creatives Behind Marvel's "Wonder Man" at the Director's Guild of America
Just ahead of the release of Marvel’s Wonder Man, Laughing Place had the chance to attend a special screening of the series and experience a Q & A with some of the cast and creatives behind the unique superhero show.
In just three days, Marvel will invite fans into their latest series Wonder Man, an Indie film-esque series exploring the origin of Simon Williams. Marking an incredibly unique entry into the MCU, The Hollywood Reporter held a special screening of the series at the Director’s Guild of America and a Q & A with some of the biggest creatives behind the show.
As a part of their Heat Vision Live event series, Laughing Place had the chance to dive deep into Wonder Man, hearing about the creation of the genre shift for Marvel, working through the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes, and finding a unique voice for the superhero show.
Kicking off the event at the DGA Theatre Complex, we were treated to a screening of the first two episodes of the series, which you can read a spoiler-free review from me below. But the real excitement arrived when stars Yahya Abdul-Mateen II (Simon Willaims) and Sir Ben Kingsley (Trevor Slattery), showrunner Andrew Guest, and co-creator Destin Daniel Cretton joined us in the theater for a special sitdown. Moderated by The Hollywood Reporter’s Aaron Couch, attendees got to hear all about the series’ creation and the challenges and victories behind it.
Kicking off the event, Couch asked what it was like getting to film in Los Angeles. In addition to creating jobs for Angelinos, everyone was very excited about getting the opportunity to honor Los Angeles and its rich entertainment history. The four even shared some personal stories about what Los Angeles has meant to them as they climbed the ranks of the industry.
Speaking of climbing the ranks, as Andrew Guest and Destin Daniel Cretton continue to be responsible for some of the largest movies in the world, the pair was asked about what it was like to create a more indie project. Destin shared “Our pitch really was character first. I think that when people say indie style, it typically is an aesthetic that is created to serve the performers. Because when you don't have a lot of money, that is your big explosions you don't get, your VFX you don't get. But what you can get is capture alive performances that are surprising. The aesthetic is kind of built around being able to let the actors have as much freedom as you can. And having an environment that can move nimbly.”
Of course, Yahya and Ben’s chemistry is undeniable on screen. The pair were asked about what it was like forming that bond and that connection. Check out the video below to hear what they had to say.
With a show that focuses so much on the struggles of actors and showcasing Los Angeles as a character in its own right, the creators also wanted to make sure that audiences around the world could still relate to this story and these characters. Andrew Guest shared “You know, I think there's a lot of concern often about doing a show about the entertainment industry that it's gonna feel too inside.Everybody who works in this town feels like, oh, we get this. We're gonna, we think it's funny. Will the rest of the world understand it? But I think the approach was to use all the lingo or inside stuff as specificity to create really a story about somebody that anyone can relate to, somebody who's got a big dream, who's doing whatever they can to chase it. I feel like that's something that anyone can tap into and whether he happened to be an actor or doing something else, you want the world around him to feel real and unbelievable. I mean, that was the goal, was to create a grounded, different kind of show for Marvel.”
Much of Wonder Man was shot during the historic strikes that hit the entertainment industry this decade, including the WGA strike. Around half of the series had been filmed prior, which left plenty of fear in the creatives that Wonder Man may never see the light of day. During that time, Guest shared that Marvel the strike “looking, thinking about it internally, and writing pages and pages of notes that was like, for when we came back, that was like this thick, but, but it was helpful in some ways”
Closing out the show, Guest continued, stating “We were halfway through ours. You know, it could have been a tax write-off for Disney, but I know for a fact that the people who were producing this show, like Brian and all of our amazing team there, were fighting their asses off to make sure that we came back and finished this weird, melancholy show. That, you know, was a big, big swing for them.”
Marvel’s Wonder Man hits Disney+ on January 27th, with all 8 episodes debuting simultaneously.
Short and Spoiler-Free Review:
Wonder Man is a refreshing shift from the superhero antics of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Where the series shines is its intimate exploration of Simon Williams and Trevor Slattery. The pair explore their own dreams and hardships in tandem, albeit from very different angles. A love letter to Los Angeles, the entertainment industry, and the passion of the people who work in it, Wonder Man does really feel like a look into humanity and dreams rather than fantasy.
Yahya Abdul-Mateen II and Sir Ben Kingsley both have such an earnest presence as Simon and Trevor, absolutely shining with their commitment to sharing the honesty behind them. Plus, they are supersonic on screen together, oozing chemistry. For that alone, Wonder Man is worth the watch.
Ironically, where the show lost me was the integration of superheroes. While, obviously, I knew this was going to be a huge part of the series, it that shift where Wonder Man lost a sense of authenticity. The initial reveal of the superpowered side of Wonder Man felt like being told someone’s secret, rather than allowing them to share it themselves. In those moments, it feels less like we are riding along on this journey with these characters and more just observing them. It is a stark contrast from most of the show’s quaint moments. This, in some way, pulled me out of the Indie film charm the series mostly captures gorgeously.
All-in-all, I think Wonder Man is an incredible effort to continue bringing unique stories to an exhausting superhero film landscape. Capturing a journey of two men who find themselves alone, helplessly reaching for their dreams, it is hard not to be enveloped into the melancholy story. It is genuinely an endearing and entertaining watch, and is easily one of the strongest Marvel projects over the last 5 or so years.
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