The man behind Wonder Man, Yahya Abdul Mateen II, responded to the series' cancellation. This year, Marvel Studios released one of the MCU's most unique and critically-acclaimed projects yet in Disney+'s Wonder Man, starring Yahya Abdul Mateen II's Simon Williams and Ben Kingsley's Trevor Slattery. In a universe of Multiversal chaos, Wonder Man told a simple story about two actors (one of which happens to have superpowers) living in the MCU's Hollywood. After releasing all eight episodes of the satire comedy at once for binging in January, Wonder Man was renewed for Season 2 in March, only for the rug to be pulled out in July when Disney+ announced the show wouldn't return after all.
Wonder Man star Yahya Abdul Mateen II was interviewed by Vanity Fair following his Disney+ series' cancellation and was asked where he received a reason that the show was abandoned despite prior renewal. The actor confirmed that the decision "had something to do with the viewership numbers:"
"Yes, I did. I was told that it had something to do with the viewership numbers. I wasn’t told what those numbers were, but ultimately, for whatever reason it was, I think they decided that it didn’t make sense for business, and that’s the decision that we live with and we keep on marching forward."
Data pieced together by The Direct from various sources confirmed that Wonder Man's viewership suffered compared to other MCU Disney+ shows, with many fans blaming poor marketing and its binge release for its struggles.
With regard to what Season 2 was going to be about, Mateen says that he "stayed away from that" and left it to the "fantastic writers." Still, Mateen had his own thoughts on where he wanted to take Simon next, pondering how he would handle getting "everything that [he has] always wanted:"
"I stayed away from that. I think we have fantastic writers. They did a great job of setting the tone for season one. So I had my hopes and my dreams about where I wanted the character to go for season two. I was very interested in telling the story of Simon, who we watched pursue everything he’s always wanted. And then I think, for me, the interesting question to explore is: Well, what are you going to do when you finally get it? What do you do when you finally get everything that you’ve always wanted? And for a guy like Simon to get fame and notoriety and a little bit of power, he has a big heart, but he also has an ego. He also wants to be a star.
Vanity Fair noted the irony that Wonder Man, a show "about this heartbreak in show business," had been cancelled. In response, Mateen suggested that the series' fate is a "lesson in life" about coming close to a dream and losing out:
"It’s a lesson in life. It’s so close to what real life is. You have just this guy, Simon, who finally had his dreams come true, but we saw him overcome after all of his attempts of getting close and then not closing the deal. Many people have that experience in real life. The cancellation of the show was just another one of those examples."
Wonder Man may be dead in the water, but Mateen still has a chance at a Primetime Emmy Award this year, as he was nominated for "Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series" for playing Simon Williams. He will face off with Steve Carell (Rooster), Matthew Rhys (Widow's Bay), Jason Segel (Shrinking), and Martin Short (Only Murders in the Building) on at the Emmys on September 14.
Wonder Man's cancellation comes at an unfortunate time for Marvel Studios, as the studio also recently abandoned Mahershala Ali's Blade. Many have pointed out the questionable optics of cancelling two Black-led projects in a matter of months.
When asked about the controversy, the Emmy-nominee noted that "the optics are obvious" and Disney should be making it "a priority to change that narrative:"
"I think the optics are obvious. If I’m a big business, if I’m Disney, if I’m Marvel, I don’t want to be attached to these optics. So it should be a priority to change that narrative and to do what it takes to responsibly change that narrative with quality stories, with quality resources."
Mateen remained confident that Wonder Man had a "quality story, [resources, and actors" that was enough to impress viewers and Emmy voters. As such, he feels that it does "deserve some study" about why it isn't continuing:
"I felt that our show did have quality story, did have quality resources, did have quality actors and people, and did produce quality results that the viewers responded to positively, that the voters responded to positively. So our show does deserve some study and some real, hard information about why a show like this did not continue forward, because it had all of the ingredients that one would want in a show."
Will Wonder Man Return to the MCU After Season 2's Cancellation?
When Variety first reported that Wonder Man had been cancelled, the outlet stated that "the characters featured in the series could still appear in other Marvel projects in the future," despite Season 2's abandonment. But now, one has to question whether Simon Williams and Trevor Slattery will ever appear again, not to mention if Josh Gad will be rescued from his imprisonment inside Doorman.
Marvel Television head Brad Winderbaum previously said that he wanted to take his time with Wonder Man's story and "give him a chance to be Simon Williams" before deciding to "throw him in with the Avengers." However, the opportunity to be patient with Simon's future has suddenly vanished, and Marvel Studios must now either throw him into another project, or abandon him altogether.
Wonder Man was a product of Destin Daniel Cretton, the director of Spider-Man: Brand New Day and Shang-Chi, who will helm more MCU projects in the future. For many reasons, Shang-Chi 2 is the perfect project to bring Simon back: both heroes are based in California, Trevor Slattery appeared in the 2021 original movie, and Cretton is still expected to direct the martial arts sequel.
A team-up between Shang-Chi and Wonder Man that lays the groundwork for the West Coast Avengers is undeniably the most likely site for Simon's return. However, there may also be room for Simon in a future X-Men-related project, given that Wonder Man sparked speculation that he may be a mutant in the MCU.
