‘Wonder Man’: Yahya Abdul-Mateen II Officially Reveals Why Marvel Cancelled Acclaimed Series!!

If you only look at big-screen box office numbers, Marvel is having a banner year so far with its only theatrical release, Spider-Man: Brand New Day. The film has already grossed over $2 billion at the box office in less than three weeks, and it’s poised to finish its global run as one of the three or four highest-grossing movies ever made. The next film on the slate for Marvel Studios, Avengers: Doomsday, is likely to find similar box office success, as it’s already tracking ahead of Spider-Man: Brand New Day in pre-sales. On the small screen, Marvel has unleashed several new seasons of established TV shows like Daredevil: Born Again and X-Men ‘97. The only new series to be released was Wonder Man, which has spent quite a bit of time in the news cycle, especially in recent weeks.

Wonder Man was a massive hit among critics and audiences, registering scores of 91% and 87% on the aggregate site Rotten Tomatoes. The show was picked up for Season 2 a few weeks after Season 1 was dropped as a binge, but Marvel went back on its word and announced it had been canceled and would not return — this news broke on the premiere day for Spider-Man: Brand New Day, which was directed by Destin Daniel Cretton, who was the key developer for Marvel’s Wonder Man. Marvel has yet to publicly share why Wonder Man was canceled after initially being renewed, but when leading star Yahya Abdul-Mateen II was asked this very question during a recent interview with Vanity Fair, he said:

“I was told that it had something to do with the viewership numbers. 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.”

Marvel Studios Recently Canceled Another Project

Wonder Man isn’t the first Marvel project to be canceled recently. After years of delays and behind-the-scenes turnover, Blade star Mahershala Ali confirmed that the film was no longer in development. Kevin Feige also confirmed this news during an interview this summer, saying that he felt like a “failure” and a “loser” for not getting Blade off the ground. Beyond Avengers: Doomsday this year, Marvel fans have Avengers: Secret Wars, X-Men, Ghost Rider, and Black Panther 3 to be excited about.