'Wonder Man' Creators Answer All Our Burning Questions About That Unpredictable Finale

Editor's note: The below interview contains spoilers for the Wonder Man finale.

From the very first episode, it's clear that Wonder Man isn't going to resemble any other MCU series — and not just because of the character at the center of the story. Simon Williams (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) might have powers, but he's not interested in becoming the next Captain America; he just wants to pursue his dreams in Hollywood. The only problem is that Simon's still waiting for his big break, overthinking even the smallest parts he earns in shows like American Horror Story (and getting fired on the spot because of it). When a seemingly chance encounter with legendary actor Trevor Slattery (Sir Ben Kingsley) opens the door to an audition for a remake of the classic superhero film Wonder Man, Simon doesn't know his life is about to change — and not just because Trevor is secretly working with the Department of Damage Control to unearth his biggest secret.

While most of the show is refreshingly low-stakes, the season finale, "Yucca Valley," written by series co-creator Andrew Guest and directed by Stella Meghie, pairs surprising heartbreak with a completely unexpected pivot midway through. After accidentally causing an explosion that destroys the set of the Wonder Man movie, Simon is convinced the authorities are closing in, only to realize that Trevor has donned the persona of The Mandarin again to take the fall for him. The Wonder Man movie premieres to positive reviews, despite Trevor's role being recast with Joey Pants himself, but Simon's still motivated to find out what the DODC has done with his friend. In the end, Simon infiltrates their top-secret holding facility after pretending to shadow a security guard for a new role, and the episode ends with him using his powers to break Trevor out.

Ahead of Wonder Man's premiere on Disney+, Collider spoke with Guest and co-creator Destin Daniel Cretton about why the MCU's latest show doesn't follow the formula that fans have come to expect, why Marvel was on board with the show's riskiest episode yet, the possibility of a Season 2, and more.

COLLIDER: Andrew, was there a concern about the Doorman episode feeling like a narrative and creative risk, and not just because you convinced Disney to let Josh Gad do an explicit remix of “Summer”?

ANDREW GUEST: Yes. That's a great question. We had always conceived of the show as feeling unique to Marvel, and they were very much on board with doing a show that felt tonally different, but I was definitely concerned that having a full episode without our two main characters might be a bridge too far. There were times when there was some hesitancy about it, certainly.

The wonderful thing is the writer of that episode, Zeke [Nicholson], did such a great job with the draft that everyone got excited about this episode on its own terms. One of the things I think it did was... I mean, Sex and the City always said that the fifth character was New York City — it made Hollywood a part of what the series is about, because it's not just Simon's journey in Hollywood, it's also DeMarr Davis’ journey in Hollywood.

To talk about Hollywood as a character, the show really leans into not just that as the backdrop, but through a lot of hilarious meta in-jokes. I was curious about the decision to include a joke about something like The Matrix, because a couple of actors in that scene have been in this franchise, including your leading man. What kind of paradox does this create in the MCU?

DESTIN DANIEL CRETTON: That's true. I love all those. When you really think about it, it's kind of crazy the things that come out of some of the characters' mouths in this show when they are living in the MCU, but I love it. I love it.

'Wonder Man' Creators Explain Why the Finale Doesn't Have a Predictable MCU Ending

"... I had no idea how you could pull off an ending that felt surprising."

A lot of the other Disney+ series progress to the point of a big superhero battle climax. What fueled the decision not to wrap up the season with something really big and bombastic, like we're used to seeing?

GUEST: From the beginning, that was the conception, was not to have a reveal that, “Oh, actually, this other person was secretly the villain the whole time, and now Simon's got to fight them.” It was really always about Simon and Trevor both making a sacrifice for somebody else for the first time in their lives.

To your question about the finale itself, I didn't know what the finale was going to be. My writers' room ended, and we had the beginning. I knew, essentially, that he was going to go to the premiere and that Trevor would still be in jail. I didn't know what the whole rest of that episode was going to be. When I realized that Simon, as an actor, had a set of skills and tools at his disposal that he ends up using, maybe it doesn't involve punching a bunch of guys out, but he's using skills and tools, and we're watching him work on a plan, and then he does something heroic, in my opinion, to save somebody else.

CRETTON: I remember when I first read that draft, I had no idea how you could pull off an ending that felt surprising. When I first read the draft that Andrew turned in, when it cuts to a year later or whatever, you don't know how much time passed, I had no idea what I was reading. I was like, “What is going to happen?” And then, slowly, the reveal to a payoff that actually made sense was very satisfying.

Trevor Slattery's Character Arc Comes Full Circle in 'Wonder Man'

"I fell in love with him on Shang-Chi, and I fell in love with him so much more on this show."

Circling back to the theme of sacrifice, one of the most heartbreaking moments in this show comes from a character who, arguably, has had a bit of a mixed-bag past in the MCU. Trevor, as a character, has had a really interesting evolution through the MCU. Obviously, we've seen him appear in films like Shang-Chi [and the Legend of the Ten Rings], and here, it seems like he really gets a shot at having a redemption arc.

CRETTON: I do think that the character of Trevor Slattery still existing in the MCU is all owed to Sir Ben Kingsley and how much he pours into this character, even if the character's purpose in some cases has been just a joke. Sir Ben has poured so much life into him that you just want to know more. It feels like it's all been orchestrated for the show; everything has been a setup for our show to finally reveal that this bumbling fool of a character actually has real depth and real layers. I fell in love with him on Shang-Chi, and I fell in love with him so much more on this show.

GUEST: It was so exciting to know that Ben was coming along with this project, that he was baked into it, and really intimidating at the same time. Pitching him this series for the first time was really scary, because he's one of the best movie actors of our generation, and you don't want to fuck it up. You want to make sure there's enough meat on the bone. In terms of finding meat for this character, knowing that he's been played at a certain level, we had to find some depth.

This is a character who has gone through his life, at least in terms of the MCU, as always being part of bigger machinations. He's kind of like a Chauncey Gardiner or Zelig figure who gets wrapped up in these big things. To me, it was interesting trying to explore that psychologically. Now, in Shang-Chi, he's one of the good guys, only because he got wrapped up in them, but he thinks he's redeemed himself. When he starts our series, he thinks he's ready for his flowers, so to speak, and he learns throughout the course of this friendship and this relationship that he's never done anything, really, and he's got to take action, and he's got to do something of his own free will in order to make a sacrifice for someone else.

On a less serious note, when did the idea come about to make Trevor's resume bear an awfully close resemblance to the actor playing him in terms of his past filmography?

CRETTON: That was also thanks to Sir Ben just allowing us to do that. That was really fun. Sir Ben and I, all of us, were able to put so much of ourselves into this project, in both fun ways and cathartic ways. It was incredibly fun and fulfilling in that way.

The finale wraps up on a point that maybe people won't be expecting, in addition to what we've already been talking about in terms of the structure of the episode. Did you leave things open-ended with the intention of potentially coming back for another season, or are you leaving Simon's future open in case someone else wants to continue his story in another project?

CRETTON: We all want a Season 2. I'm not going to lie about that. But it also just felt like the right ending for the show.

GUEST: It’s always up to Marvel in terms of where they want to take these characters, but if the audience connects with Simon Williams, I'm sure we'll see him again in something.