Wonder Man debuted earlier this year on Disney+ as a refreshing departure from the normal MCU streaming formula. In fact, just two months after the series launched, Marvel confirmed it would be getting a second season, another surprise given how often its shows folded after just one. But now it turns out Wonder Man season 2 isn’t happening after all, and it’s still not entirely clear why.
The news was broken by Variety, which reported that the writers’ room for the second season never officially opened and everyone involved was released to work on other projects. One source told the outlet that while the show is now canceled, the main characters could still return as cameos in other Marvel series.
Wonder Man starred Yahya Abdul Mateen II and Ben Kingsley as Simon Williams and Trevor Slattery, respectively, an unlikely duo who team up to try and make it in Hollywood with roles leading a remake of the in-universe superhero movie Wonder Man. The rub is that Simon has superpowers in a world where superheroes aren’t allowed to act on screen. A fun satire of the movie business ensues.
The show garnered a 91 percent positive rating with critics and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II won an Emmy nomination for lead actor in a comedy series. The show didn’t appear to reach a mass audience on Disney+, but it seemed like the critical acclaim was enough to propel it to a second season, where shows like Hawkeye and Moon Knight ended after just one.
Something that happened between March and now must have convinced Disney to change course. One thing that did happen during that time frame was Josh D’Amaro became the new CEO of the company. He’s instituted multiple mass layoffs this year already. Like every other streamer, Disney+ has grown significantly from where it was but still failed to catch up to services like Netflix and YouTube TV.
The good news is that it’s not too late to go back and catch up on the first season of Wonder Man.