Wonder Man: Demetrius Grosse Lands Key Role in New Marvel Series
Disney+’s Wonder Man now has a brother and likely foe.
TVLine has learned that Demetrius Grosse, whose most recent TV credits include Fear the Walking Dead and Apple TV+’s Swagger, has officially signed on with the upcoming Marvel series to play Eric Williams, the brother of Simon Williams aka the titular Wonder Man (Watchmen‘s Yahya Abdul-Mateen II).
Filming is expected to begin this spring.
Word of Grosse being eyed for the role first swirled weeks ago, via a Patreon. Neither Disney+ nor Marvel had comment on TVLine’s report.
First introduced in comics in 1964, Wonder Man has been depicted as a gifted engineer who gains superhuman abilities and becomes an enemy of The Avengers, though he has also fought alongside the team of Marvel heroes in multiple capacities.
In comics lore, Eric, meanwhile, suffered as the “black sheep” of the Williams family, whereas Simon was doted upon. Eric eventually steered toward a life of crime and, wielding a scythe that was ultimately upgraded with coma-inducting powers, he adopted the name Grim Reaper.
Though specific details about the live-action Disney+ series’ plot remain under wraps, Destin Daniel Cretton (Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings) and writer-producer Andrew Guest (Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Community) are developing it, with Guest serving as head writer.
Among other castings, Ben Kingsley is reportedly reprising his role as Trevor Slattery, the character he previously played on the big screen in both Iron Man 3 and Shang-Chi.
In addition to his aforementioned roles on Fear TWD and Swagger, Grosse’s TV credits include Banshee, Justified and The Brave.
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The fact that they’re going to have Ben Kingsley as the comedic (but not particularly funny) character “Trevor Slattery” makes me doubt this project. That, and because Disney’s Marvel series have been generally underwhelming.
“ with Guest serving as head writer.”
The showrunner model that allows Hollywood TV to lead the world creatively is being dismantled before our very eyes.
It’s almost like Disney is going out of its way to lose money for its shareholders. The creative side is totally detached from reality. Wasn’t Bob Iger supposed to make sure creative was producing programming that was financially rewarding? Andrew Guest is head writer? This show is going to be a disaster, like most everything else Marvel related on Disney+.
🙄
So far, I have mostly liked the Marvel/Disney+ series. I wasn’t sure how to take the sitcom styling of She-Hulk and still not sure if it was a hit or miss. This is an obscure character that they are apparently repurposing with a complete makeover. It sounds like an unlikely gamble but I will watch and hold judgment.
Why were the comments about him harassing an actress on The Rookie deleted?
Probably because he didn’t do it and it was proven that she lied… 😊😊 defamation is real. She went crazy. Haven’t seen her on anything.
Wonderman is one of my fave Marvel hero. Why did they make him black?
THE CHARACTER WONDERMAN IS WHITE NOT BLACK. SO I DOUBT THIS IS GOING TO BE A GOOD IDEA ! WHEN YOU CHANGE ONE THING ,IT SNOWBALLS INTO OTHER THINGS TOO!
So were the Egyptians but Elizabeth Taylor played Cleopatra….I mean if we are going to bring race in to it…. Let’s have a well rounded conversation.
they should have had a real actress that was Egyptian! the real story behind wonderman is that he was an actor and a playboy and he got powers and he was WANDA’S crush i think …then they took his personality and some how duplicated it and gave it to VISION – at least that was the story in the 1980’s -i dont really care that he’s black -thats not here nor there -my feelings are that the movie director should follow the comic instead of going off on a different direction. i think ZAC EFRON would have made a better choice for the character.just my opinion.lets wait and see -hope this is a good movie!