Fans of the Marvel show Wonder Man have criticised the show’s cancellation, despite initially being renewed for season two.
The show revolved around two fictional actors – Simon Williams (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) and Trevor Slattery (Ben Kingsley) – as they try to land roles in a remake of the superhero movie Wonder Man. Kingsley reprised his role in Iron Man 3 and Shang-Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings, and the show was created by Destin Daniel Cretton, who recently helmed Spider-Man: Brand New Day, and directed Shang-Chi.
The show received good reviews, including a four-star NME review that called it “loads of fun”, and was initially renewed in March. However, this week Marvel made a U-turn on that decision and cancelled the show entirely.
Yahya Abdul-Mateen II addressed the news on Instagram, writing: “Word just dropped that Wonder Man won’t be coming back for Season two. (And if you don’t knowww, now ya knoww!) That’s life, right? Everything will shake out.”
He then thanked his collaborators and the show’s fans before saying: “I’m glad we got to be a part of something cool. Thank you for watching… And uhh… See you at the EMMYS.” The last line is a joking reference to the fact that the actor received an Emmy nomination for his performance in the show, despite it being cancelled.
Fans took to X (formerly Twitter) to express their disappointment at the decision, also pointing out that a series that earned an Emmy nomination deserved a better fate.
“Canceling Wonder Man after already giving it the green light AND after Yahya’s Emmy nom is a huge slap in the face,” wrote one reporter, with another adding: “Doing this after the lead actor received a nomination at the Emmy’s is such a shitty move.”
Canceling ‘Wonder Man’ after already giving it the green light AND after Yahya’s Emmy nom is a huge slap in the face.
— IAMNJERA (@IAMNJERA) July 30, 2026
If they cancelled Wonder Man because Destin is busy with Spider-Man, they could’ve EASILY gotten a different director to keep it going. Doing this after the lead actor received a nomination at the Emmy’s is such a shitty move
— Parker 🕸🕷 (@mcuspider616) July 30, 2026
Some fans talked about what the show meant to them. “This actually hurts, one of my favourite projects the MCU has ever put out and it deserved more,” lamented one user. “I don’t think I’ve ever felt more seen than watching Wonder Man,” added another.
“That first season is so special to me and seemed like the perfect show for Marvel to run for years to come. It feels like robbery to not get another season.”
This actually hurts, one of my favorite projects the MCU has ever put out and it deserved more
D23 gonna be awkward when Wonder Man S2 was most likely planned to be showcased or at least mentioned during that event
Feige better have that fucking X-Men cast READY TO GO https://t.co/nV9m4Jsz2n pic.twitter.com/FF9qpv8Qt2
— John | 🇵🇷 (@SchwayJohn) July 30, 2026
I don't think I've ever felt more seen than watching Wonder Man. That first season is so special to me and seemed like the perfect show for Marvel to run for years to come. It feels like robbery to not get another season pic.twitter.com/eH3RAcwNvH
— Jack (-_•) (@captaincupkick) July 30, 2026
Some fans pointed to Destin Daniel Cretton’s busy schedule being the possible reason. The director is currently attached to Shang-Chi 2, an adaptation of the anime series Naruto, and the positive reception for Brand New Day suggests more Spider-Man movies on the horizon. “I’m assuming Wonder Man got cancelled cuz they want ddc to do spider-man 5 asap,” one user surmised, “but if it’s any other reason it’s lame as hell that they cancelled it.”
I'm assuming wonder man got cancelled cuz they want ddc to do spider-man 5 asap, but if it's any other reason it's lame as hell that they cancelled it
— Dbr_xe (@DbrXe) July 31, 2026
Cretton’s Spider-Man: Brand New Day was released in cinemas on Wednesday (July 29). NME’s four-star review described it as “easily the best Tom Holland Spider-Man outing – and the best MCU movie of the decade.”
