Yahya Abdul-Mateen II has broken his silence after Marvel's Wonder Man lost its previously announced second-season renewal at Disney+.
Disney+ had initially renewed the series for Season 2 in March, but reversed the decision on Thursday, leaving fans and the cast surprised. The move comes despite Wonder Man delivering a respectable debut when it premiered in late January, amassing 618 million minutes viewed during its first week, according to Nielsen.
Although the series later dropped out of the streaming charts' top 10 original titles, it maintained strong reviews from both critics and audiences. Abdul-Mateen's performance as the superhero also earned him an Emmy nomination.
Following the unexpected cancellation, Abdul-Mateen shared his response with fans in an Instagram post.
“Word just dropped that Wonder Man won’t be coming back,” he wrote in the caption. “That’s life, right? Everything will shake out.”
Abdul-Mateen continued, “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.”
He concluded his post: “Thank you for watching… And uhh… See you at the EMMYS.”
Yahya Abdul-Mateen II is in contention for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series, competing against Steve Carell (Rooster), Matthew Rhys (Widow's Bay), Jason Segel (Shrinking) and Martin Short (Only Murders in the Building).
Wonder Man was created by Destin Daniel Cretton, known for Spider-Man: Brand New Day and Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, alongside Andrew Guest. Before the renewal was reversed, both were expected to return for a second season. The duo also executive produced the series with Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige, Louis D'Esposito, Jonathan Schwartz and Marvel Television and Marvel Animation chief Brad Winderbaum. Guest additionally served as showrunner, while Cretton directed multiple episodes.
The ensemble cast also featured Ben Kingsley, X Mayo, Demetrius Grosse, Zlatko Burić, Arian Moayed, Olivia Thirlby, Dan Donohue and Kameron J. Meadows.
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