The entire journey of Marvel Studios’ Wonder Man series has been a strange one. Despite a lack of early buzz, the show about two Hollywood actors in different phases of their lives (and one with superpowers) proved to be a hit with critics and fans, garnering star Yahya Abdul-Mateen II an Emmy nomination. And it even got a quick season two renewal. Then, two months later, Disney+ mysteriously canceled Wonder Man. And Marvel fans noticed this was yet another series or movie featuring a Black lead character that Disney canceled, right after Blade. Needless to say, it’s not a good look for the company. Now, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II is being candid about the terrible optics of Wonder Man’s early demise, in an interview with Vanity Fair. Here’s what he had to say:
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.
Yahya is not the only person shocked by this decision. Wonder Man director and EP Destin Daniel Cretton also seems shocked by the cancelation. And he suggested it was purely a Disney decision, and not one from Marvel Studios. Showrunner Andrew Guest was also perplexed. Rumor has it that Disney has chosen to severely cut back on live-action programming on the streamer for both Marvel and Star Wars. Apparently, they feel the constant flood of new shows has diluted both brands. And in that way, they certainly have a point. But to reverse a decision about a well-reviewed show like Wonder Man, something they’ve never done before? Well, as Yahya Abdul Mateen plainly said, the optics are awful.
Blade aside, there seems to be no indication that Dominique Thorne’s Ironheart or Don Cheadle’s James Rhodes are anywhere near Avengers: Doomsday or Secret Wars. Perhaps most glaringly, neither is Teyonah Parris’ Monica Rambeau, whose The Marvels post-credits scene seemingly leads directly to Doomsday. A movie where almost all the original Fox X-Men have returned, minus Halle Berry’s Storm. Again, this is not a good look. Disney would garner a lot of goodwill if they took the temperature of the room, and re-renewed Wonder Man. It’s not too late to admit you made a massive mistake, and fix it. Maybe there’s still a chance to see Yahya Abdul-Mateen II light up our screens as Simon Williams again.