As we gear up for James Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 and eagerly anticipate cameos from Sylvester Stallone and Michael Rosenbaum among the main cast of Chris Pratt, Dave Bautista, and Zoe Saldana, it is sad to learn that someone will be absent from proceedings.

It is a well-known fact that Gunn shares a blossoming bromance with Firefly star Nathan Fillon and that the dashing space cowboy was once set to join the Guardians in their adventures. However, revealing that Fillon’s part was cut from Vol.2, fans have since been pining over what could’ve been.

An image shared on Fillon’s Instagram showed him sporting long hair and seemingly playing Arkon from Weirdworld, while a series of meta movie posters confirmed that he was actually Simon Williams - the actor known as Wonder Man. Gunn has now taken to Twitter to dispell all the rumors surrounding the cameo and confirm what Fillon’s role was supposed to be. Gunn was asked,  “In that photo - is Nathan playing Simon, playing Arkon?” While it may have been a simple answer, the director simply confirmed Yes.

He went on to say that indeed Fillon was playing Simon Williams, however, he only featured in some movie posters, presumably in the background of a scene rather than a full speaking role in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.

Excitingly though, Gunn teased that it may not have been the last we have seen on Fillon and has possibly just confirmed that Fillon will be playing Wonder Man in the MCU. When asked “So does that make him Simon Williams in the MCU - or since it was cut, it technically didn’t happen? ;) Signed, Wonder Man’s #1 fan,” Gunn replied with the following tweets:

. @NathanFillion was Simon Williams in some movie POSTERS in a scene cut from the movie. It was a way to have fun with one of my best pals. https://t.co/aueWcm88zb— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) April 21, 2017

I think we’ll have to wait and see (and I love Wonder Man also, and @NathanFillion) https://t.co/jfn21lu8k4— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) April 21, 2017

While Gunn may not have a say on the rest of the MCU, it certainly sounds like he could be gearing up a full-blown appearance from Fillon as Wonder Man in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, or if not, he must be playing the role elsewhere. The Russo Brothers’ Avengers: Infinity War may be pretty packed at the moment, but there is surely enough room for someone like Fillon? You would put him in an Avengers movie over the Guardians, mainly because Simon Williams is normally affiliated with the Avengers and in particular Tony Stark.

Williams was granted powers by Baron Zemo to get inside the Avengers and tear the team apart internally. However, the tables were turned and Williams under his new guise as Wonder Man defeated Zemo and rescued the Avengers. It may seem like too small of a plotline to fit into Infinity War, however, it could easily feature in the fourth Avengers film. As a full-time Avenger and one of the founding members of the West Coast Avengers, we can expect Wonder Man to appear eventually and Fillon would be perfect for the part.

Source: James Gunn

  • Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 Release Date: 2017-05-05 Avengers: Infinity War Release Date: 2018-04-27 The Avengers 4 Release Date: 2019-04-26 spider-man homecoming Release Date: 2017-07-07 Thor: Ragnarok Release Date: 2017-11-03 Black Panther Release Date: 2018-02-16 Ant-Man 2 Release Date: 2018-07-06 captain marvel Release Date: 2019-03-08