Wonder Man Episode 4 Has A Disney Animation Star Poke Fun At Himself

This article contains spoilers for "Wonder Man" season 1, episode 4 — "Doorman."

In the "Wonder Man" series premiere, "Matinee," Simon Williams (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) cunningly talks his way into a casting call and has to discuss a mysterious form known as the "Doorman waiver." This seems to effectively shut powered actors out of the entertainment industry. In episode 4, "Doorman," we finally discover just what — or, rather, who — prompted this particular clause.

The episode focuses on DeMarr Davis (Byron Bowers), an unassuming doorman for an exclusive club. After an accident gives him the superpower to use his own body as a portal, Davis becomes a hero by saving noted Hollywood star Josh Gad ("Frozen," "Beauty and the Beast") and a group of others from a deadly fire. This prompts Gad to hire Davis, which in turn propels the newly-dubbed Doorman into a life as a D-list celebrity. Unfortunately, Davis' 15 minutes of fame ends in a tragedy when a movie he's making with Gad results in Gad disappearing into Doorman's portal, never to be found.

The heavily publicized incident prompts the Doorman Clause, which prevents super-powered people from participating in productions and, thus, potentially endangering their co-stars. Perhaps even more importantly, however, it allows Gad to poke fun at his own image. Gamely, Gad plays a party-minded celeb who (unlike the real Gad) is happily coasting through his career with very little in the way of acting skills. Along with nods at his past Disney roles, the whole Gad experience goes well beyond a cameo — he's a full-on Marvel Cinematic Universe character.

"Wonder Man" pulls back the curtain on the Marvel Cinematic Universe by focusing on the people who create fiction within the fictional MCU itself. In doing so, it brings several real-life Hollywood figures into the MCU fold. Simon's disastrous "American Horror Story" turn and the mention of a mysterious porta-potty explosion on the set of "The Rookie" imply that everyone involved with these shows exist as themselves in the MCU. (Though there's no word if Nathan Fillion, who's on his fourth MCU character, still plays John Nolan.) Leonardo DiCaprio also gets a first name drop, while Joe Pantoliano gets Gad-level live-action exposure as Trevor Slattery's (Ben Kingsley) frenemy from their old soap opera days.

These, of course, are just some of the many real-life figures who are walking around the MCU in some shape, form or way. Up until "Wonder Man," the meatiest real-life celebrity role in the franchise was probably Kevin Bacon, who was an extremely good sport about the whole Marvel thing in James Gunn's "The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special." Various movies have also rolled out a cavalcade of other real people in various capacities, from the Stephen Hawking name drop in "The Avengers" to Megan Thee Stallion's on-camera cameo on "She-Hulk: Attorney At Law." In other words, the MCU Gad is the latest fun addition in an ever-expanding club.

"Wonder Man" season 1 is streaming on Disney+.