The balance of power in the Marvel Cinematic Universe is about to change. Again. There are some big new and returning projects coming from Marvel Studios in 2026, with some even bigger powerhouse heroes and villains set to make their MCU debuts. As always, Marvel Studios is playing things extremely close to the vest when it comes to revealing any details about any of these projects, but just having so many characters active in the MCU all at once raises certain logistical questions.

Marvel Studios will kick off 2026 by releasing its Wonder Man Disney+ series at the end of the month. The show will introduce the character of Simon Williams (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II), an actor who is hiding a secret: he has superpowers. And not just any superpowers: Simon may have abilities that make him one of the most powerful characters in the MCU – but one theory is that those powers may come from the last place Simon Williams should be channeling from.

The latest Wonder Man TV spot and teaser photo are an odd pair. The photo depicts a page of Simon Williams’ script, covered in his own acting notes. In one section of monologuing, the Wonder Man character (who Simon is portraying in a major Hollywood reboot film) drops the line, “Well, I’ve been to hell. I’ve lived in that screaming silence.” However, Simon crosses out the word “hell” in favor of theoddly-phrased mention that “I’ve been to The Void.” The accompanying teaser shows Simon auditioning the monologue, reciting the lines in accordance with all of his notes. We not only get to hear how Simon emphasizes “The Void” when he speaks, but also get to see all of the personal emotion and subtext he’s infusing into the words as the monologue goes on: “I know what it’s like. I lost whatever was left of me that makes a person… a person.”

Is Wonder Man Connected to The Sentry’s Void?

Wonder Man / Marvel Studios

In Thunderbolts* we were introduced to Bob Reynolds, a troubled young man who inexplicably becomes the sole survivor of the government’s Sentry super soldier program. Valentina (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) built Bob into “The Sentry,” a public-facing hero as powerful as Superman. However, what no one knew was that Bob had a dark side – a sentient one, due to his own mental illness. That dark persona, “The Void,” attacked NYC, snatching up dozens of citizens (and the Thunderbolts) and trapping them in a living hell of their most traumatic memories and mental spaces. Even though the Thunderbolts were able to help Bob overcome his demons, the Void’s presence and effect were significant.

The monologue from Simon Williams definitely seems to convey emotional, if not physical, trauma – perhaps quite literally. In the comics, Wonder Man’s superpowers come from the mysterious”iocnic energy,” which transformed him into a superpowered being. The experiments that changed Simon were conducted by A.I.M., but it would be easy for the MCU to flip that into a Project Sentry connection, or simply make Simon, who was caught in The Void’s attack, only to absorb the strange (ionic) energies of the place.

Admittedly, it would be an interesting new way to tie things together in the MCU adaptation: Wonder Man would suddenly be on a potential power level with Sentry/Void, and as trailers have already hinted, there could be a serious emotional component to how it works. Finally, if you establish that lore, it opens windows for other characters transformed by the Void,” to potentially show up (say… Cloak and Dagger).

Then again, it’s always smart to take your salt grain at times like this. Marvel Studios has been trolling fans for years by dropping names and references that make fan theories go wild for weeks… only to ultimately reveal them to be red herrings that generate free promotional traction online. So, Simon Williams name-dropping the void might just be for dramatic effect, and not a reference to Bob at all. Or, it could mean something pivotal. We shall see.

Wonder Man will release all 8 of its episodes on January 27th, only on Disney+.