Marvel had already renewed Wonder Man for season 2, which made it all the more surprising when the studio backtracked and actually cancelled the series last week.
The cast and crew were very much ready to get back to work; in fact, Wonder Man co-creator and showrunner Andrew Guest took to TikTok to explain that contracts had been signed, schedules had been cleared, and he had even written the first episode of the new season.
In the video, Guest cleared up a few points about the cancellation and also thanked the fans for their support.
“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,” he said. “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.“
Guest revealed that the first episode had been written, and there was even an outline of where the rest of the season would go. “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,” he said. “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,” he added. “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.“
Abdul-Mateen II has received an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series for his work on Wonder Man. You can check out Guest’s full video below.
@andrewgst #wonderman #marvel #season2 #marvelwonderman #mcu ♬ Monologues – Joel P West
When the series was renewed for a second season, Abdul-Mateen II spoke of his excitement about coming back for more. “Yeah, this one was special,” he said. “I usually distance myself from the work after it comes out, and distance myself from the conversation and things like that. I think that’s just my healthy way of interacting with this feedback loop. But Wonder Man was a bit different, because it was so special for creatives, for artists, for people with dreams. So, I really did enjoy participating, sort of peripherally, with the conversation about the show, and it touched a lot of people, and that was something that I was really, really proud to be a part of. So I am happy that we got a season 2, and thank you. I’m happy that we got a season 2, and I’m excited to share what we got in store.“
Do you think Simon Williams will appear in another MCU project, or is this the last we’ve seen of the character?