The Wonder Man series is an excellent example of how Hollywood insiders can turn to the series by bringing real actors in the form of cameos as playable characters, such as Josh Gad and Joe Pantoliano. The actors are the core of the show, who are in the middle of their careers and want to keep their looks secret and superpowers to enhance the authenticity and humour of the story.
Co-creator Andrew Guest told Entertainment Weekly that it was especially pleasant to cast Pantoliano in the role of Joey Pants. Pantoliano is played as the long-term competitor of Trevor Slattery and is a fictionalised version of himself, a superstar that Trevor never became.
The characters by Pantoliano give Simon Williams, the character of Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, a platform to hold auditions, and it gives us a glimpse into a Hollywood world of both reality and light fiction. The props used to decorate the mansion set, such as posters of the 1994 movie Baby’s Day Out and an older movie of Pantoliano, provide further levels to his role as a comedian.
Notably, the authors designed the Joey Pants character by ensuring Pantoliano agreed to take the part and modelled the character to suit his character and Hollywood experiences. The guest has underlined that the vast knowledge Pantoliano possessed on acting and the craft itself enhanced the script and gave the role a natural voice.
His cameo by Josh Gad is developed in a separate episode, in black and white, in a caricatured, self-centred image of himself. This episode deals with the MCU Doorman Clause, which is an insurance policy barring superpowered persons who do not conform to rigorous terms.
One of the most memorable moments was pointed out by co-creator Destin Daniel Cretton as an example when composer Joel P. West was commissioned to come up with an EDM remix of a Gas song that was played in a club during the episode, Frozen in Summer. Cretton then stated that he hoped that the song would get an official release, stating that it was an excellent composition in his opinion.
This episode of the show devoted itself to the theme of exploring the results of uncontrolled superpowered ambition, and this satisfied a narrative requirement to demonstrate why Simon Williams is interested in achieving a career in Hollywood in his own way. The guest said that thevarc was a “cautionary tale”, based on the Marvel comic-book character Doorman.
Wonder Man is a multilayered meta-narrative by incorporating real Hollywood experiences and fantastical superhero elements, using the Cameos of Gad and Pantoliano to support its argument on fame and artistry. The eight episodes can be watched on Disney+.
