Coronation Street is officially canon in the MCU after Ben Kingsley Marvel reference

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Well, we certainly didn’t have that on our 2026 bingo card!

Marvel has surprisingly made Coronation Street, the famous British soap opera, officially part of its cinematic universe, thanks to director Destin Daniel Cretton and writer Andrew Guest.

You won’t believe this, but the British soap opera, recently celebrating its 65th anniversary, actually got a mention in the Marvel Cinematic Universe! The new Marvel Spotlight series, Wonder Man, is responsible for the surprising nod.

The popular ITV series recently teamed up with Emmerdale for a special episode, ‘Corriedale,’ which focused on the aftermath of a major car crash.

The recent event was a huge hit, attracting almost 5 million live viewers – the largest audience for a soap opera in over two years. Fans compared the special to a major crossover event, similar to the popular Avengers films.

In the second episode of Wonder Man, called “Self-Tape,” Yahya Abdul-Mateen II’s character, Simon Williams, asks Sir Ben Kingsley (playing Trevor Slattery) to help him film an audition tape. It’s a funny moment in the show.

When Trevor invited Simon over, the young actor was impressed by all the scripts, props, and tapes filling Trevor’s home, especially one tape that caught his eye.

Oh my gosh, I totally remember this! It’s from Coronation Street, specifically episodes 616 through 619 and then 646 to 649. In the scene, Simon sees this old VHS tape and asks if I was the one who played Ron Jenkins. It’s such a fun little moment!

I was so impressed when Trevor responded with a cheerful “Well done!” – it instantly reminded me of the Rovers Return! He even acted out ordering drinks, saying “a pint of bitter, please, and one for my friend.” It was a perfect little moment!

Everyone in Britain had a turn, and the producers were excited to have me after I finished playing King Lear, he explained.

A quick exchange in the show Wonder Man gave British viewers a fun ‘gotcha!’ moment. Many fans excitedly shared online that it was the first official acknowledgement of the British soap opera within the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

One fan expressed their excitement about the new Marvel series, jokingly saying it felt like a reference to the British soap opera ‘Coronation Street,’ and that their two favorite worlds were merging.

“Ken Barlow vs Thanos when” another jokingly questioned.

Interestingly, the joke about a character’s background is actually true! Sir Ben Kingsley, the famous Oscar-winning actor, really did have a brief role as Ron Jenkins on the British soap opera Coronation Street, appearing from November 1966 to March 1967. He also made appearances in related spin-off shows, Pardon the Expression and Turn out the Lights.

Interestingly, this isn’t the first connection between the soap and a major superhero series. The recent marketing for James Gunn’s Superman movie included a reference to the famous “London?!” meme.

A fun social media video showed the stars of the film – Rachel Brosnahan, David Corenswet, and Nicholas Hoult – playfully recreating a famous scene from the British TV show Coronation Street. They acted out the iconic “London?!” exchange between characters Janice and Leanne Battersby as part of promoting their film in London.

If characters from Coronation Street suddenly appeared in a Marvel movie, which ones would you want to see make a quick appearance?

Wouldn’t it be fun to see beloved characters like Roy Cropper or Deirdre Barlow from Coronation Street make a cameo in a future Marvel movie?

Wonder Man is now streaming on Disney+.

Authors

Nicola AustinFreelance Writer

Nicola Austin is a freelance journalist with a passion for science fiction, fantasy, and animation. She’s written for many publications, including Empire, Digital Spy, and SciFiNow, covering TV and film. She’s a firm believer that The Mummy is a classic 90s film.

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2026-01-29 18:41