Wonder Man will not return for a second season on Disney+, according to an exclusive report by Variety. Marvel Television announced the renewal four months ago.
Variety reported that a Season 2 writers' room never opened and the show's writers have been released to pursue other projects. A person with knowledge of the situation told the trade that the characters could still appear in future Marvel projects.
As of 2:54 p.m. CDT Thursday, there was no cancellation announcement from Disney or Marvel. The March 23 renewal article and official Season 2 page still carried the original return language.
Marvel had called the season “full development”
Under Marvel's March plan, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II and Ben Kingsley were set to return as Simon Williams and Trevor Slattery. Co-creators Destin Daniel Cretton and Andrew Guest were also attached, with Guest as showrunner and Cretton as director.
Marvel Television chief Brad Winderbaum said in March that the project was in “full development.” The official announcement did not give Season 2 a release date.
Simon Williams in the show and comics
The Disney+ series recast Simon Williams as an aspiring actor who auditions for a superhero movie. Trevor Slattery, the actor introduced in Iron Man 3, becomes his friend and fellow performer.
In Marvel Comics, Simon is the superhero Wonder Man, an Avenger whose powers come from ionic energy. The television series used that history as a starting point for a Hollywood story. A future appearance would not necessarily continue the canceled Season 2 plans.
The first season debuted in January. Abdul-Mateen received an Emmy nomination for his performance, but Disney did not release viewership totals. Variety reported that the series made one appearance on Nielsen's streaming originals chart before dropping out the following week.
Sources: Joe Otterson's original report for Variety, Marvel's March 23 renewal announcement, the official Season 2 page and Marvel Studios' renewal post.
Images: Marvel Studios.