Wonder Man has been cancelled despite getting a strong response from audiences and critics – but why? Find out below.
Created by Destin Daniel Cretton and Andrew Guest, the comedy series followed the fictional actors Simon Williams (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) and Trevor Slattery (Ben Kingsley) as they tried to land roles in a remake of the superhero movie Wonder Man.
The eight-episode first season, which was an official part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, was released in full on Disney+ in January, but it has now been confirmed that it will not be coming back for a second run.
Fans did not react well to the news, with some describing it as “a huge slap in the face” and others likening the cancellation to “robbery”.
In a four-star review, MME wrote: “By ditching standard tropes for something more character focused, the MCU manages to swerve superhero fatigue with this extremely meta standalone treat.”
Why was Wonder Man season two cancelled?
The show was initially renewed in March after the first season went down well with audiences and critics, but Marvel reversed the decision at the end of July, ironically just days after Abdul-Mateen picked up an Emmy nomination for his role in the show.
Disney and Marvel have not disclosed a specific reason for cancelling Wonder Man, but its creators have indicated that it was the result of an internal business decision rather than a creative issue.
Anthony Guest said in a TikTok video that preparations were already under way for the second season, and all of the cast and crew were “eager” to get into it. “Contracts were signed, schedules were cleared,” he said. “The writers’ room was supposed to start this month. Production was supposed to begin early next year.”
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He said the result was the result of a “decision made internally by Disney and Marvel”, in which they concluded that bringing the show back for a second run “didn’t make sense for them”.
Cretton, who has just directed Spider-Man: Brand New Day, has also expressed his surprise at the decision, telling The Wrap: “I don’t fully understand the business of streaming, but if the business was right, we would be making that show.”
He also confirmed that there were no plans to convert the proposed second season into a film, and the cancellation is in keeping with Marvel beginning to dial back its television output.
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