Marvel Studios and Disney continue to come under fire for cancelling Wonder Man after originally renewing the series for Season 2 in March. The first batch of episodes received glowing reviews from fans and critics, and there was a lot of excitement to see Simon Williams and Trevor Slattery's stories continue.
Now, the characters are in limbo—like so many others introduced during the Multiverse Saga—as is showrunner Andrew Guest, who had already started work on Wonder Man Season 2 when the decision to scrap it came out of nowhere.
In a newly shared TikTok video, the writer clears up a few misconceptions about Wonder Man's cancellation, confirming that scheduling issues were never an issue and that Marvel and Disney ultimately decided that continuing the show "didn't make sense for them."
While Guest admits he was in the dark about viewership numbers, he'd already written the premiere and had received positive feedback on where Simon's story was headed.
"I feel how you all feel. And I just want to clear up what I can here. This is not a marketing stunt. There is no movie in the works. And Destin’s schedule, and no one’s schedule, was an issue. Yahya, Destin, Sir Ben, and I all loved making this show. All felt passionately about continuing to do it and were eager to. Contracts were signed, schedules were cleared. The writer’s room was supposed to start this month. The production was supposed to begin early next year."
"And there was a decision made internally between Disney and Marvel that this didn’t make sense for them — even though a few months ago it did. And that’s essentially all I really know. Numbers aren’t really shared with me. And even though the writer’s room hadn’t started, I had written the first episode of season two. And we had an outline for where the season would go. And everyone felt really good about it. It was gonna be a really incredible season that, hopefully, surpassed season one."
"I appreciate everybody getting out there and letting your voices be heard about how you feel about this. There’s important conversations being had online about the kinds of stories that we’re prioritising, and the kind of shows that platforms want to make. I hope people are listening. And I also hope that Emmy voters are thinking about Yahya and how much he deserves an Emmy for the incredible work he did on this show."
Marvel Studios has rarely done wrong over the years, but the cancellation of Wonder Man feels like a real misstep. However, with Disney seemingly cutting streaming spending and the MCU shifting back to a theatrical franchise rather than a streaming one, Simon and company may have been a business casualty.
"Yahya Abdul-Mateen II steals the show in this delightfully original two-hander about friendship, acting, and being true to yourself," we wrote in our review. "Wonder Man is the cure to superhero fatigue and the most original MCU TV series since WandaVision."
You can hear more from Guest in the player below.