We’re just a couple of weeks away from the start of the 2026 TV schedule and the new delights that await us on the small screen, including on a host of the best streaming services. Those with a Disney+ subscription are actually about a little over a month away from being able to watch the upcoming Marvel TV show, Wonder Man, which will see Yahya Abdul-Mateen II’s Simon Williams and Ben Kingsley’s former pretend-Mandarin, Trevor Slattery, vie for fame in Hollywood in a very meta way: as the stars of a superhero show. Now, Kingsley has revealed what Trevor’s been doing since we last saw him, and it’s surprisingly sentimental.
What Did Ben Kingsley Say About What Trevor’s Been Doing Since Shang-Chi?
What a long, strange trip it’s been for Trevor Slattery. The Marvel movies in order first introduced the down-on-his-luck actor in Iron Man 3, where we eventually found out he was hired to portray terrorist leader, The Mandarin. He was imprisoned for a while and then held captive by the real Mandarin, which we saw in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.
Through it all, Oscar winner Ben Kingsley has played the ambitious but somewhat addled thespian, and now he’s bringing Trevor back for Wonder Man (which showed off its meta story in a delightfully odd trailer in October). When speaking about the series with Entertainment Weekly, Kingsley opened up about what his character did after deciding to stay in the magical realm of Ta Lo to keep hanging with his Dijiang buddy, Morris:
He manages to escape from the real Mandarin and from Shang-Chi land, and he flies back into Hollywood to give his career a second chance and to prove to his dear mother Dorothy, who always had faith in him and his talents, that he was truly the actor his mom always hoped he would be and that he always aspired to be. And a series of extraordinary events place him exactly in that space, which crowns him and compromises him at the same time. He's pulled in two directions at the same time.
Wow. Alright, I don’t think anyone could have guessed that a character with such a wild backstory could have such a relatively sweet motivation for any of his actions, but here we are. The Marvel One-shot, All Hail the King, saw some of Trevor’s time in prison after the events of IM3, and revealed his strong connection to his mom, who’d encouraged his love for the theater when he was a kid. However, she passed away in the ‘80s while he was pursuing his career (unsuccessfully) in the United States.
Of course, this means that she missed out on the whole “fake being a terrorist to help cover real crimes” part of her son’s life, so at least there’s that. But, it makes a lot of sense that Trevor, who adored his mom, would still want to try and make good on becoming a successful actor as a tribute to her and how she supported him. It sounds like Wonder Man will see him come as close as he ever has to doing that, but his good fortune will also lead him to some moral conflicts that he might not be able to dodge. This could mean some bad news for Trevor and Simon, depending on how things go down.
This is all pretty deep stuff for a character who’s only been seen three times previously, with one of those appearances being his only leading part in the Marvel multiverse thus far. Luckily, as Kingsley explained, he was eager to revive Trevor to keep exploring his motivations and adventures:
During Shang-Chi, Kevin Feige and [director] Destin [Daniel Cretton] suggested to me the possibility of Trevor reappearing for the fourth time in a TV series. We didn't even know the title, and I said, 'I'd be thrilled.' I love revisiting Trevor — there's so many layers to him. [This] series does see Trevor before he got the role of Mandarin, and then of course after, so it's a real biography — it's a biopic of Trevor in four episodes.
Hmmm…Though I’m certainly intrigued by this “biopic of Trevor in four episodes,” because the series as a whole looks like it’s gonna be pretty wild and “full of surprises,” just like The Thursday Murder Club star teased, now I have a question. We actually know the show has eight episodes, so will Trevor not be around for all of them because this is the end of his road, or just because that’s where the bulk of his history is explored? I suppose we’ll all have to wait until January 27 to find out.
You must confirm your public display name before commenting
Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.
