MarvelBlog News for March 29th, 2026
This past week, everyone watched the new Spider-Man trailer, and that’s not all.
We also learned when the new Punisher will land, and Wonder Man (?!) got renewed.
Photo: ComicBook
We have three huge stories to discuss in MarvelBlog News.
Wonder Man Season…Two?
I’ve been reporting on Hollywood and the media for nearly 30 years now.
So, it takes a LOT to surprise me. This past week, I was gobsmacked, and I say that sincerely.
Earlier this year, I heard some rumors, but I frankly dismissed them as implausible.
I knew that season one of Wonder Man had shocked everyone with its quality.
Photo: Marvel
Ben Kingsley delivered the performance of a lifetime, no small feat for an Academy Award winner.
He and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II developed a rare and profound level of onscreen chemistry.
Photo: Marvel
The duo made every moment of Wonder Man a joy despite some frankly sad subject matter.
This particular version of Simon Williams is one giant sob story, someone emotionally imprisoned by his secret.
Image: Disney
Meanwhile, Kingsley plays Trevor Slattery brilliantly as an inveterate coward.
The villain formerly known as The Mandarin will do whatever it takes to save his own skin.
Image: Disney
If that means faking a friendship with someone he knows is superpowered, so be it.
Wonder Man’s first season was a masterpiece and one that followed the Mythic Quest model to boot.
Image: Disney
One random standalone episode in the middle of the series explained Williams’ struggles.
A savant as an actor, he is guilty of overthinking everything, but that’s not what holds him back.
Image: Disney
It’s a strange tale involving the mystery of Josh Gad that sealed Williams’ fate as an actor.
If that sentence made no sense to you, go watch Wonder Man and get back to me.
Image: Disney
This series wasn’t afraid to be weird, and that’s probably why it sat on the shelf for so long.
Filming began in April 2023. Friends, that was three calendar years ago.
Image: Disney
So, when I say that Wonder Man getting a second season is a shock, I mean it.
How Did This Happen?
Image: Disney
Your guess is as good as mine, but let’s focus on the Occam’s Razor here.
Wonder Man season one is really, really good, and the reviews bear this out.
Image: Disney
The series is currently 91 percent Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes with a Metacritic score of 74.
Despite some rather transparent review bombing, it’s also a solid 7.4 on IMDb.
Image: Disney
Despite this fact, Marvel and Disney frankly didn’t know what to do with the show.
Many of the issues involved bad luck and terrible timing, along with one preventable tragedy.
Image: Disney
First, Marvel changed direction when it fired Victoria Alonso and moved away from standalone series.
Since Wonder Man was written as a limited series, it didn’t seem easy to sequelize.
Image: Disney
On top of that, the Hollywood strikes of 2023 forced a pause in production.
Once those strikes ended, Marvel debated whether it even should continue with Wonder Man.
Imagine telling Sir Ben Kingsley that his work wasn’t welcome. Well, that almost happened.
Eventually, production restarted in early 2024, only for an error in judgment to cause the death of a crewmember.
Disney and the studio where filming had occurred were both heavily fined for the incident.
After that, any discussion of Wonder Man turned distasteful to some.
Production finally ended in March 2024 for a show that wouldn’t debut until January 27th, 2026.
Are you starting to understand how unlikely this renewal was? Well, fate owed the cast a favor.
With Disney facing some new negative PR involving The Bachelorette, it sought a distraction.
Renewing a well-received Marvel series clearly struck some people as a good idea, and I’m here for it.
Image: Disney
Fans deserve more Wonder Man, as does the cast. Season one is excellent!
So, this is wonderful news and proof that quality and fan outcries can cause streaming companies to listen.
Marvel Miscellany
Photo: Marvel
We’ve got two more huge stories to cover this week, one of which is stunning.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day’s trailer debuted last week, and I know you watched.
Photo: Marvel
The law of averages suggests that you did, as people have watched that clip one billion times.
There are six billion people with internet on the planet, which makes this a truly remarkable feat.
Photo: Marvel
We all know that Spider-Man is the most popular Marvel comic character, but still.
For all that Sony does wrong with Marvel, people keep forgiving them long enough to watch Spider-Man.
Photo: Marvel
This is obviously the first time a movie trailer has ever done that, albeit with asterisks.
Everything stays on YouTube forever, which leads to higher counts over time.
Photo: Marvel
The tracker Variety and other sources are using focuses on immediate views.
In the case of Brand New Day, the trailer debuted on March 17th.
Source: Marvel
So, it reached a record-setting number of views in less than ten days. As I said, STUNNING!
The other big story this week involves The Punisher, but no, it’s not about Daredevil: Born Again.
Source: Hot Toys/Marvel
No, Marvel has saved The Punisher for his own standalone special, and we now know when.
The single episode, The Punisher: One Last Kill, will debut on May 12th, 2026.
Source: Marvel/ Disney +
This seems like a good time to mention that the final episode of Daredevil season two arrives on May 5th.
Read into that what you will, but I find the dates very interesting. I’m sensing some crossover.
