Nathan Fillion has been a geek icon ever since he starred in Joss Whedon’s awesome (but short-lived) sci-fi series Firefly. Since then he’s starred in a lot of genre flicks and the hit TV series Castle, but despite lots of interest from his fans, he’s never scored a major role in a superhero movie. Until now. Sort of.
You see, Fillion has provided the voice of DC heroes like Green Lantern and Vigilante in several animated productions, but he’s stayed out of the Marvel Universe except for a brief cameo in James Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy. Don’t feel bad if you missed him: he had a bit part as a blue alien. The good news about that role is that it still left Nathan Fillion open to play a bigger role in the future. A well-known character, for example, who in the comics was a major part of the Avengers.
Also: Rapid Reviews | ‘Captain America: Civil War’ in :60 Seconds
Don’t want it spoiled? Leave now. Because we’re going to tell you who Nathan Fillion is allegedly playing Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 in…
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Simon Williams, aka Wonder Man.
Marvel Comics
Wonder Man has been through a lot in the comics. He started out as a villain, became an Avenger, dated The Scarlet Witch and – perhaps most notably – had a moderately successful career as an actor. And casting Nathan Fillion as a smarmy actor who just happens to be a superhero is almost too perfect.
The news comes from ComicBook.com, which posted the following slideshow of behind the scenes photos from Imgur that tease a “Simon Williams Film Festival,” featuring movie posters that spoof the Oscar-nominated biopic Steve Jobs, with Simon Williams (a.k.a. Nathan Fillion) playing Tony Stark. He also appears to have been in a supernatural thriller series called Haxan, a Conan knockoff based on Marvel’s own Conan knockoff Arkon, and in an obvious nod to director James Gunn’s early career working with Troma, a superhero flick called The Toxic Janitor.
It seems unlikely that this is anything but a cameo, an in-joke or both, so don’t expect to see Simon Williams suiting up to do battle alongside the Guardians of the Galaxy anytime soon. But if any of the movies wants to use Simon Williams, or if any of the TV shows are looking for a groovy cameo, apparently Nathan Fillion is your man.
William Bibbiani (everyone calls him ‘Bibbs’) is Crave’s film content editor and critic. You can hear him every week on The B-Movies Podcast and Canceled Too Soon, and watch him on the weekly YouTube series Most Craved, Rapid Reviews and What the Flick. Follow his rantings on Twitter at @WilliamBibbiani.
The 20 Best Superhero Movie Posters:
Photo: Kelly Sullivan/Getty Images
The 20 Best Superhero Movie Posters
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3 Dev Adam
Also known as That Turkish Ripoff Film Where Captain America and El Santo Team Up to Fight Evil Spider-Man. The film is at least 70 times more spectacular than anything cooked up by Disney, and this poster reflects that.
Image: Tual Film Arsel
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Ant Man
To assure viewers that Ant-Man was tied in the The Avengers series, the marketers released a series of posters showing our tiny, tiny hero to scale with his future teammates.
Image: Disney
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Batman (1966)
Camp was the word of the day in 1966, and this is still perhaps the most enjoyable Batman film of them all.
Image: 20th Century Fox
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Batman (1989)
It may be difficult to describe just how huge Tim Burton's 1989 film really was back in the day. To tease us, the posters only displayed the Batman logo.
Image: Warner Bros.
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Batman: Mask of the Phantasm
In its own personal continuity, the animated Batman feature had an appropriately stylized poster.
Image: Warner Bros.
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Batman Returns
While there have been numerous iterations of Catwoman over the years, this single image has become the defining image of the character in the minds of many.
Image: Warner Bros.
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Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice
Although the film has been largely panned, it cannot be denied that these street art renditions of the two title heroes are pretty cool.
Image: Warner Bros.
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Darkman
Sam Raimi's over-the-top vigilante movie came from the era of hand-painted posters, when they all looked way cooler.
Image: Universal
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Deadpool
The snarky, self-aware superhero comedy film faked you out with these Nicholas Sparks-inspired romance posters. Surprise! It's an R-rated comedy!
Image: 20th Century Fox
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Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance
The best thing about Ghost Rider is the way he looks like a living tattoo. This poster highlights that to an amazing degree.
Image: Columbia
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Guardians of the Galaxy
Although it is just a few glory shots of the team, a graphic designer thought to add some color. It certainly catches the eye.
Image: Disney
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Hellboy
This poster, painted by the legendary Drew Struzan, wasn't used in the U.S. Our loss, I suppose.
Image: Columbia
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Mystery Men
One of the funniest of all superhero movies, the clever Mystery Men took not-too-impressive superheroes (like The Shoveler and The Spleen) and made them look epic.
Image: Universal
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Spider-Man 3
Non-fans see a moral conflict. Fans see a glimpse of an evil alien blob that takes the form of a costume. Either way, good choice.
Image: 20th Century Fox
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Supergirl
Often jeered, this goofy Superman spinoff has a poster that outdoes most of its peers.
Image: TriStar Pictures
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Superman III
This hand-painted poster was only used in international markets, but the images and the colors translate all over the world.
Image: Warner Bros.
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The Amazing Spider-Man
No one asked for this reboot, but this image did lend an air of mystery to a story we already knew from a few years before.
Image: 20th Century Fox
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The Dark Knight
The kid gloves are off, and buildings got blowed up. The image became iconic. Question: Did Batman burn that building in a bat shape, or did the Joker do it to discredit Batman? I always saw it as the latter.
Image: Warner Bros.
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The Shadow
I loved how shiny and glossy blockbuster posters were in the '80s and '90s. This image became a logo for the film, and the colors are still unique to this day.
Image: Universal
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X-Men: Days of Future Past
X-Men 7 was when they started to mess around with alternate timelines in earnest, and the posters let us see the overlap.
Image: 20th Century Fox
