When “Wonder Man” co-creators Destin Daniel Cretton and Andrew Guest took the stage at the spring 2026 IndieWire Honors to accept the Auteur Award, they began by addressing what they saw as the elephant in the room.
“I don’t know who’s in charge of naming these things, but I’m pretty sure they never imagined the Auteur Award going to a Marvel series on Disney+,” Cretton said to laughter in the room. “We’re just calling out what everyone is thinking. When you picture an auteur, you picture Kubrick or Fellini. Or films like ‘Magnolia’ or ‘Breaking the Waves,’ not ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day.’”
While Cretton’s deadpan comedic timing was impeccable, the jokes were rooted in some truth. But as the two collaborators went on to explain, a superhero buddy comedy about a struggling actor that’s as interested in the logistics of auditions as saving the universe is a tough sell for any brand. The fact that they were able to execute their vision — and have it turn out as well as it did — is a testament to both their abilities and Marvel’s willingness to give them breathing room.
“The truth is, even though this is a Marvel series, it has needed critics and journalists to find it and champion it, and we’re incredibly grateful,” Guest said. “Thank you IndieWire for being our champions, and we want to thank our studio for being offsite a lot.”
Cretton and Guest both previously addressed Marvel’s internal openness to creative risk taking during their pre-Honors interview with IndieWire, where both men stressed that the company is comprised of film lovers who want to make interesting things.
“I think what a lot of people don’t see from the outside is that Marvel, like most studios, but Marvel in particular, is made up of a lot of people who not only love comics, but love movies,” Cretton said in the interview. “A lot of the executives went to film school and are major cinema buffs.”
“And the fact that we did have the response we did is a testament to Marvel’s risk-taking on this,” Guest said. “I feel like they wanted to reward the fans who found this show, which is just thrilling for us because it’s a gift to be able to keep making it.”
This season’s IndieWire Honors ceremony took place Thursday, June 4, in Los Angeles with an intimate cocktail reception and ceremony. Stay tuned for more exclusive editorial and social content from the night, including video interviews, outtakes, and more.
You can watch Cretton and Guest’s complete speech in the video above.
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