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This article contains Wonder Man spoilers.
No one fires up the first episode of Marvel‘s latest superhero series, Wonder Man, and expects to find that uber TV producer Ryan Murphy has suddenly become MCU canon. But that’s how it goes when we first meet the grown-up version of our main character Simon Williams, who is overthinking his day player role on American Horror Story. That means that Murphy, his long-running, gruesome FX series, and all his other projects (do you think Bucky Barnes ever sat and watched Monster: The Ed Gein Story? Does Ms. Marvel have Glee opinions?!) must now exist in the MCU.
But how do we know that Wonder Man is really MCU canon? Well, early in the series, we see a billboard advertising a cinematic spin on Rogers: The Musical, the Broadway show Clint Barton/Hawkeye endured in his own Disney+ show. We also hear about Trevor Slattery’s past in Iron Man 3 and Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. This meta stuff is indeed happening, albeit perhaps in a Deadpool-esque way.
As the series continues, we’re treated to celebrity cameos and name-dropping aplenty, but if you missed any of the other famous people who now canonically exist in the MCU, we’ve got you covered with our handy list.
Ashley Greene
Twilight franchise star Ashley Greene is the first actor we meet playing herself in Wonder Man. After Simon takes some time to praise his American Horror Story director for her work on Castle Rock and Sons of Anarchy, we’re told Greene is there to play Sarah, a colleague of Simon’s professor character. She’s supposed to turn into a monster and bite his head off (sounds right). However, Greene never gets that far because Simon has overthought his character’s background and motivation, and drags out the scene until he learns he’s been cut from the show. Oof.
Joe Pantoliano
Apparently, Trevor once landed a lead role in the fictional medical TV show Southshaw Hospital, but only made the first three episodes before he was replaced by co-star Joey “The Matrix” Pants. Trevor’s version of events is that Joe betrayed him by convincing the showrunner that he was the better choice, but Joe’s account is very different.
When Trevor and Simon visit Joe’s beachside property, The Sopranos actor name-drops Matthew McConaughey and Arnold Schwarzenegger before reminding Trevor that he was high as a kite filming Southshaw Hospital and barely showed up, admitting to Joe that he couldn’t handle the pressure. The network eventually had no choice but to kill off Trevor’s character and replace him with Mr. Pants, a move that happens again after Trevor exits the Wonder Man remake.
Dustin Hoffman, Jon Voight, and John Schlesinger
Simon and Trevor discuss Midnight Cowboy trivia after a matinée screening of the classic 1969 drama, with Simon recalling how Dustin Hoffman convinced director John Schlesinger he was right for the part of Ratso. Elsewhere, the theater is advertising screenings of Tora! Tora! Tora! and 20,000 Eyes in the background, as Simon and Trevor make their way outside to discuss the latter’s intriguing upcoming audition.
Mario Lopez
Former Saved by the Bell star Mario Lopez pops up in episode four, anchoring the celebrity news show Hot Goss instead of Access Hollywood, where he’s really been in residence since 2019. Lopez fills us in on all the juicy Hollywood gossip from there on out, most notably covering Tinseltown’s decision to enact The Doorman Clause and prevent superpowered individuals from causing safety issues on set.
Josh Gad
In Wonder Man‘s black-and-white episode “Doorman,” Disney star Josh Gad (“J-Gad”) enters the picture, opening a different kind of door in Hollywood for the humble DeMarr Davis (Byron Bowers).
After offering him a role in his new action movie – the hilariously titled Cash Grab – Gad continues to poke fun at himself throughout the episode, and eventually succumbs to an unknown fate, leading a news reporter to say the never-before-spoken “Where is Josh Gad? The world wants to know.” If Gad has ever annoyed you, onscreen or otherwise, he may just have made up for it by roasting himself a little here.
David Cronenberg
Wonder Man director Von Kovak extols the virtues of David Cronenberg’s spin on The Fly when he’s interviewed about his own upcoming remake, saying that the Canadian body-horror genre maestro grounded his take in science and “discovered new, unthinkable horrors” that ultimately made the movie a worthy redo. And he’s right to say it!
Leonardo DiCaprio & The Manning Brothers
Leonardo DiCaprio might never want to do a superhero movie, Marvel or otherwise, but he’s now definitely been name-checked in a superhero TV series thanks to Simon Williams, whose agent Janelle (X Mayo) tries to dissuade him from auditioning for the lead of Wonder Man because “they’re already talking to Leo.” Simon’s heard they’re looking for someone different, and tries to convince Janelle that he could be the right actor for the role. She’s a bit busy trying to sign football royalty, though, and is stuck playing “hot potato” with Eli Manning.
Joseph Gordon-Levitt & Glenn Howerton
Hovering New York Times reporter Kathy Friedman (Lauren Weedman) wants to do a profile of Simon, which he doubts will paint him in a good light. Though Trevor thinks it’s a good idea, Simon reads him some negative snippets from Kathy’s previous celebrity profiles. One mentions an ominous “pigeon incident” from Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s childhood, and fearing a similar character assassination to the one Kathy wrote on the (500) Days of Summer actor or It’s Always Sunny… star Glenn Howerton (“one of the most charming dudes out there!”), Simon begins to worry that Kathy will find out a little too much about him.
However, it’s Trevor that ultimately gets the Joseph Gordon-Levitt treatment, and he’s soon storming out on Kathy, yelling “I never murdered any bloody pigeons!” in one of the show’s finest moments.
John Gielgud
Trevor says that legendary English actor and theatre director John Gielgud used to make Trevor whip him across his “bare arse” with a belt every night before curtain up, until “things got weird.” We never find out more. A travesty, but the mind boggles.
Shonda Rhimes
The Hanover Agency wants to capitalize on Simon’s Wonder Man buzz by snagging him the lead in a new series from Grey’s Anatomy and Scandal creator Shonda Rhimes. Simon has doubts about taking it that are only further compounded by Trevor’s opinion that it sounds “dreadful.” Should we assume that all the negativity expressed here is more of a sideswipe at Disney+’s rival streamer Netflix, which is apparently behind the new show, rather than at Shonda? Perhaps!
Wonder Man also makes sure to mention Robert De Niro, Antonio Banderas, Pierce Brosnan, Christopher Nolan, Paul Thomas Anderson, and Dua Lipa at various points. Have we missed anyone? Let us know in the comments!
The post All the Celebrities Who Are Now MCU Canon Thanks to Wonder Man appeared first on Den of Geek.
