- Marvel’s decision to cancel ‘Wonder Man’ despite its success raises concerns about the studio’s support for Black-led projects
- The actor received an Emmy nomination for his role, yet the show was still canceled, suggesting its success may have contributed to its demise
- Marvel needs to prioritize ‘quality stories’ and ‘resources’ to responsibly change the ‘narrative’ around its treatment of Black characters and narratives
You don’t have to wonder what Yahya Abdul-Mateen II thinks about Marvel’s mounting Black-led project problem. The Wonder Man star is openly questioning the studio’s commitment to Black stories after Disney+ abruptly reversed the series’ Season 2 renewal, calling the “optics” surrounding the decision “obvious.”
In an interview with Vanity Fair, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II opened up about what he sees as a failure by Marvel to champion its projects that feature Black characters and storylines, including the show that he helmed, Wonder Man.
As previously reported, on the heels of the company’s CEO Kevin Feige expressing his regret for fumbling the highly anticipated Blade remake starring Oscar winner Mahershala Ali, Marvel rescinded the second season of Wonder Man despite its success with fans and critics.
“I think the optics are obvious,” he told Vanity Fair. “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.”
He continued,
“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.”
The cancellation of Wonder Man was made even more confusing after Mateen received an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series for his portrayal of Simon Williams on the show. How could a show so beloved by fans and, clearly, respected by the academy also be on the chopping block? The actor said he received an answer from the studio.
“I was told that it had something to do with the viewership numbers,” he said. “I wasn’t told what those numbers were, but ultimately, for whatever reason it was, I think they decided that it didn’t make sense for business, and that’s the decision that we live with and we keep on marching forward.”
The show did well enough to be renewed two months after its premiere but was then cancelled months later, causing many to believe that it was actually Wonder Man‘s success, with a Black lead, that led to it being shelved. Following the show’s cancellation, Mateen took to IG to deliver the news to fans, saying,
“Word just dropped that Wonder Man won’t be coming back for Season 2. That’s life, right? Everything will shake out. I wanted to say thank you to everybody who WATCHED the show, ENJOYED the show, and SHARED that they enjoyed the show in some way or other. The show worked. And that’s my favorite thing about it. I could see it on the faces of the Youtube Reactors (because I watched along with y’all this time. Shoutout to y’all) and I can see in the messages I get saying how the show reminded some of you not to give up, and I feel it in the genuine love shared when I bump into some of you all during the day. So, thinking of you all today. I’m glad we got to be a part of something cool. Thank you for watching… And uhh… See you at the EMMYS.”
Nonetheless, Mateen has bounced back just fine with several projects in line to drop before the year’s end. He’ll star alongside Brad Pitt in The Adventures of Cliff Booth and will take his swing at the Labor Day weekend box office with By Any Means, starring him and Mark Wahlberg.
