Yahya Abdul-Mateen II is speaking out on the optics of two of Marvel’s recent decisions regarding projects led by Black actors.
If you don’t know, his show Wonder-Man was canceled after one season – after it had been previously renewed. Yahya was nominated for an Emmy for his work on the show.
The Mahershala Ali-led Blade also was revealed to be done.
Yahya Abdul-Mateen II spoke out about the two projects being canceled just days apart
He told Vanity Fair, “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. 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.”
Why Wonder Man was canceled after being previously renewed
He was also asked why the show was canceled.
He shared, “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.”
The post Yahya Abdul-Mateen II Addresses the Optics of Marvel Canceling ‘Wonder Man’ as ‘Blade’ Fails to Move Forward appeared first on Just Jared - Celebrity News and Gossip | Entertainment.