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.
Andrew Guest says the plan changed inside Disney and Marvel
Showrunner Andrew Guest addressed the cancellation Sunday in a public video. He said the decision was not a marketing stunt, no Wonder Man movie is in development, and scheduling was not the obstacle.
Guest said contracts had been signed and schedules cleared. The writers' room was supposed to open in August, with production planned for early 2027. He had already written the Season 2 premiere and the team had outlined the season.
According to Guest, Disney and Marvel decided internally that a second season no longer made sense for them. He said viewership numbers were not shared with him.
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: Andrew Guest's original Aug. 2 video, 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.