Take a First Look at Ben Kingsley’s Trevor Slattery in MCU’s Wonder Man

Ben Kingsley has been around in the Marvel Cinematic Universe for about a decade. We haven’t seen his character, Trevor Slattery, for several years, and everyone believed his role was pretty much done after Iron Man had him arrested. But then, he reappeared in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, and fans went bonkers with joy.

Then, in August 2022, Variety reported that Kingsley is set to return as Trevor in a new Marvel Studios series – Wonder Man – that’s likely coming out somewhere in the first half of 2024. Now, those reports are proven true, as some photos of Ben Kingsley for the set came out.

Who is Trevor Slattery?

Before we get into the actual footage from the Wonder Man set, let’s remind everyone who Trevor Slattery is in the MCU – especially those younger fans who probably weren’t around since the beginning.

Trevor Slattery was an actor hired by a guy named Aldrich Killian to play the role of the Mandarin – the world’s most feared, evil terrorist and the leader of the Ten Rings. Ben Kingsley appeared in that role in Iron Man 3, and once Tony Stark got to Trevor Slattery, we learned that he’s nothing but an actor, simply doing a job.

Tony has him arrested and taken to Seagate Penitentiary, but there’s a catch. Trevor had no idea he was portraying a person that actually existed. That person was Xu Wenwu, the real Mandarin and the real leader of the Ten Rings.

Wenwu used Trevor’s desire for fame to send Jackson Norriss to pose as a film producer, ready to make a documentary about his life, and then kidnapped Slattery, taking him to the Mandarin. Trevor survived solely because of his acting skills, serving as a court jester that entertains Wenwu and the Ten Rings.

Then Shang-Chi and his sister found Trevor locked up in the Ten Rings Headquarters, and Slattery served as a translator for an odd being named Morris, who became his friend during his imprisonment. Morris led them to his home realm of Ta Lo, where the big final battle in the Shang-Chi movie ensued. 

After that, Trevor stayed in Ta Lo to be with Morris. How he got to appear in Wonder Man remains to be seen.

Ben Kingsley on Wonder Man set

Early development and pre-production for the MCU series Wonder Man started way back in June 2022. Sporadically, we got info about cast and crew members joining the project, including Ben Kingsley as Trevor Slattery and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as Wonder Man.

The latest news about Wonder Man came out on April 3, 2023, when we learned that the production of the show started at full steam ahead in Los Angeles. And now, the first set photos have leaked, and on those set photos, we see Ben Kingsley’s Trevor Slattery in a brand new look.

As you can see, Trevor is still donning that long hair he gained during his captivity with the Ten Rings, but he looks much more polished and well-maintained.

Now, we still have no idea when Wonder Man will take place within the MCU timeline, and we still have no idea what the plot will be. However, seeing that Trevor Slattery was last seen in Ta Lo, I reckon the show will somehow connect to Shang-Chi, at least to some degree.

When is Wonder Man coming out?

Currently, there are no set dates for Wonder Man’s release. The show just recently went into production, so I highly doubt we’ll get to see Wonder Man this year. I mean, Loki Season 2 has been filmed and ready to rock for months now, and it’s still getting delayed all the way up to September this year.

That being said, I believe we’ll get to see Wonder Man somewhere in early-to-mid 2024, but, as with all other MCU projects recently, that approximate release date can shift and change a couple of times before it’s actually set.