The MCU Hits a High Point on Disney+ With Its Best Release Yet
Disney+ is set to release a new Marvel series called Wonder Man, and early reviews suggest it might be one of the best MCU projects in years.
The miniseries, created by Destin Daniel Cretton and Andrew Guest, follows struggling actors Simon Williams and Trevor Slattery as they try to land roles in a remake of the Wonder Man film. Guest also serves as showrunner.
Wonder Man is part of Phase Six of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and will be released under the Marvel Spotlight banner. The show will have eight episodes and is scheduled to premiere in full on Disney+ on January 27.
Its release was delayed a few times due to production issues and strikes from WGA and SAG-AFTRA. Originally planned for the 2023–24 TV season, it was moved from December 2025 to January 2026 to avoid competing with holiday programming. Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige admitted he didn’t like keeping the series on the shelf, noting that other similar shows had been released while Wonder Man waited, which made Marvel seem like it was “following a trend, instead of leading it.”
Critics are praising Wonder Man for its fresh approach. On Rotten Tomatoes, the show has a 96% rating. Simon Gallagher from ComicBook.com wrote that the series is “a pretty provocative exercise in not ticking boxes: without getting too far into spoilers, despite hints that it could all break out into a conventional superhero slug-fest with a big battle climax, Wonder Man thumbs its nose at the very idea.” Carson Timar of ButteredPopcorn said, “Wonder Man is tediously basic, but never embarrassing on execution.”
Other reviews highlight the series’ smaller, character-focused story. Abe Friedtanzer at Awards Buzz wrote, “There are glimmers of greatness and promise to be found throughout this show’s first and likely only season, including a standalone flashback episode that’s difficult to shake.”
Eric Goldman on YouTube described it as “a show about an aspiring actor who has superpowers but isn’t a superhero. It’s a much smaller scale story for the MCU but for those who can accept it on those terms, it’s a really strong Hollywood-set buddy dynamic powered by two great performances.”
Nick Schager from The Daily Beast added that it’s “an MCU-style industry send-up … that features fewer laughs than those satires but, courtesy of its leads, a surprising amount of heart.” Joonatan Itkonen gave it a perfect score and called it “a gift, even if it turns out to be a one-off. This is everything that made me love Marvel in the first place.”
With these positive reviews, Wonder Man could be a standout Disney+ release in the MCU after several years of mixed reactions to other series.
He was born to play this role, but the spotlight reveals everything. #WonderMan, an 8-episode series, premieres January 27 at 6PM PT only on @DisneyPlus. pic.twitter.com/hsB27lEaJD
— Marvel Studios (@MarvelStudios) January 1, 2026
Wonder Man looks like a refreshing take for Marvel. Instead of relying on huge battles and epic scale, it focuses on characters and humor while still connecting to the larger MCU. The high critic scores suggest Marvel may have found a winning formula again. What do you think? Will Wonder Man live up to the hype and be one of the best MCU series yet? Share your thoughts in the comments.