Zach Braff is best known for his work in Scrubs, but he's also stepped behind the camera to direct critically acclaimed episodes of that, Ted Lasso, and, on the film side, Garden State.
Promoting Season 2 of Scrubs alongside co-stars Donald Faison and Sarah Chalke, Braff revealed that he was being lined up to work on Marvel Television's Wonder Man before the decision was made to cancel the Disney+ series.
Faison was particularly disappointed, as the Kick-Ass and Legends of Tomorrow star was eager to make his MCU debut in the series that earned Yahya Abdul-Mateen II an Emmy nomination.
"Donald and I both shared a love of the show Wonder Man," Braff started. "He's always wanted me to work with Marvel. And so I had a meeting with them, and I was like, 'I love your show. Please put me on the list for consideration to direct Season 2.' And they said, 'We love your work. Yes, consider yourself on the list.'"
"And Donald and I were high-fiving, and then about a week later, they said, 'You know that show that's very popular and just got Emmy nominations? We've cancelled it [Laughs]," the actor and filmmaker added.
While Braff has openly admitted he's not a huge fan of genre fare like Marvel and Star Wars, he's never turned his nose up at franchises like that and even had a memorable cameo in the Disney+ series, Obi-Wan Kenobi. As an actor, we're sure Braff would have had something interesting to say with Wonder Man.
With 91% on Rotten Tomatoes, Wonder Man ranks among the best-reviewed MCU titles, but might have suffered from receiving the "Marvel Spotlight" treatment. Like Echo, the entire season was released on the same day, meaning it was discussed for a week and then quickly forgotten.
Whatever the case, unofficial streaming viewership data suggests Wonder Man didn't draw enough interest. It was a wildly different series from Marvel Studios. Still, after so many only-okay or disappointing Disney+ series, even that and the glowing reviews may not have been enough to convince people to give it a shot.
"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."
Wonder Man is now streaming on Disney+. You can hear more from Braff in the player below.