‘Future Man’ – Derek Wilson Interview on Season 2 and What’s Up with Wolf

When Hulu’s Future Man season two begins, Tiger (Eliza Coupe), Wolf (Derek Wilson), and Josh (Josh Hutcherson) are stuck in a drastically altered 2162. Tiger’s dealing with the discovery she’s a Biotic, Josh can’t stay out of trouble, and Wolf is once again forced to adapt to new bizarre surroundings.

Derek Wilson joined his Future Man co-stars at the New York Comic Con in support of the show’s second season. During our roundtable interview, Wilson discussed Wolf’s adaptability and what he’d like to see happen if the series earns a third season.

Future Man season two premieres on January 11, 2019.

Of the main characters, Wolf had the biggest transitions over the course of season one. How does he evolve in season two?

Derek Wilson: “Well, we start from where we left off in season one, obviously, which is he’s not the hardened warrior that he was. And we’re dealing with a future that is completely different from the one that Tiger and Wolf left. So, it’s a new fish out of water story in a future that we thought we knew but is completely different. It’s a matter of seeing what’s different when it’s completely different from what we left.


As opposed to living in the sewers, now everyone’s above ground. It’s this great thing that they live above ground and it’s really not a pleasant place that they live. So, there’s a lot of adaptation. There’s only two real food ingredients, so for Wolf that’s a challenge. But he adapts, as he always does.”

Wolf is so resilient and he really embraces new things. What aspect of Wolf and his obsessions is the most fun for you to play?

Derek Wilson: “I love it when he finds something that is surprising to him and affects him in a way that’s surprising. In this season he finds love in various forms and that was really fun to play because it’s a surprising thing. The thing is, he never goes halfway. He goes all the way, everything else be damned. Like, ‘This is what I’m doing.’ So, yeah, I think it was finding love that was a fun thing to play with this season.”

Future Man star Derek Wilson
Derek Wilson in ‘Future Man’ season 2 (Photo by Erin Simkin/Hulu)

How is the relationship between Wolf and Tiger in season two?

Derek Wilson: “It’s challenged. We start to find out at the end of season one – we, the audience – that Tiger is Biotic. And, so we start dealing with that in season two. That’s a big challenge and it puts a pretty big strain on the relationship because honor and trust are a huge thing to Wolf – two huge things to Wolf. And, you know, he really values honor and truth. If you go against that…

It’s hard to talk about this too because the thing is, we get so close in the show that there are a few scenes where I had to get pretty nasty with Tiger because of this and it’s really emotional. It’s hard to do. I mean it’s not hard to do but it’s hard to do that to Eliza and to Tiger. But it’s, hopefully, fun to watch.”

Is it hard for you to do the Wolf voice? Does it hurt?

Derek Wilson: “It doesn’t hurt me. It’s hard to do in a setting like this but as soon as we’re in a scene, it’s just there. It only hurts if I have to project a lot, if it’s a big audience scene or something. I have to go back to my theatre training and try and get into that which is tough with the throatiness of it.

I hurt myself only once and that was in season one with the TruffleDome. It was a long day and a lot of yelling. It actually kind of works. Towards the end of the scene you can hear my voice going out and I’m just sort of over it and tired, and it worked.”

Did you take inspiration from any other characters in creating that voice?

Derek Wilson: “Oh yeah. When I showed up to do the pilot, I was brought on to do this like two days before we started shooting because I was shooting Preacher with Seth (Rogen) and Evan (Goldberg). So, I came in and had really very little idea what to do with this character which you can see if you watch the first pilot. It’s not fully formed yet. And Evan came up to me and said, ‘Just for now just try your best macho Batman voice.’ And so it hasn’t stayed there but it’s become Wolf’s voice. But that’s where it started.”

At the beginning of season two, Wolf, Tiger, and Josh are separated. How was that for you to play without your cohorts?

Derek Wilson: “I missed them a lot. We all missed each other. We texted a lot, just like, ‘What did you do today?’ I think it’s a nice thing to see us go on our own journeys and grapple with our own issues, but for us as actors we missed each other. I think if, hopefully, we do a season three, we’ll be together because we’ve done that grand experiment.”

Do you think there’s a future where both Wolf and Tiger are happy?

Derek Wilson: “Yeah. Sure. Maybe season seven. Yeah, why not? I think anything is possible. It’s a matter of lining the right ducks up in a row to make that future happen. As we see in season two, every little thing that we did in season one has affected this future.”

Do you have any suggestions for where you want to see the show go in a third season?

Derek Wilson: “I would like to go deeper into history. Where that is, I don’t know. It would be fun to go to the Old West. If we’re really following the Back to the Future thing, that would be a fun thing. Or prehistoric times, even. I want to go back further, out of the 20th century. I want to wear really fabulous costumes.”