RESOLVING THE LEDGER
This is one outlet's own report from The A.V. Club — the article as it was filed. Other outlets are covering the same event; open the full story to compare every source side by side.
See the full story · 12 sourcesShowing how much they appreciate his work on Spider-Man: Brand New Day , the first unqualified Marvel movie success since Deadpool & Wolverine , Disney canceled Wonder-Man , the TV series co-created by Spidey director Destin Daniel Cretton. The news was a surprise, arriving on the eve of Marvel’s Brand New Day , which would go on to earn $1 billion in about four days. Cretton’s co-creator, Andrew Guest, explained in a TikTok video that the show’s axing was more of a rug pull. “Schedules were cleared,” he said. “The writers’ room was supposed to start this week. The production was supposed to begin early next year, and there was a decision made internally between Disney and Marvel that this didn’t make sense for them, even though a few months ago it did.” It’s strange to say the least, but Disney is keeping its streaming numbers under its Mickey hat and won’t even share the reason for the cancellation with Cretton.
Speaking to The Wrap , Cretton expressed his love for the series and its star, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II (“the fucking best”), who earned an Emmy nod for the show. However, he’s as much in the dark as the rest of us regarding the sudden about-face on the show. Apparently, the call came from above Kevin Feige. “If it were up to me, we would be making that show,” Cretton says. “And I do believe that if–and I know this sounds weird–but if it were up to Kevin [Feige], we would be doing that show. And I’m just talking, I don’t fully understand the business of streaming, but if the business was right, we would be making that show because I know [Feige] loves that show as much as I do. It’s a bummer. I’m heartbroken about it. But I need to fully understand the why.”
Though some online have suggested that this is all a marketing stunt for a Wonder Man movie, that’s even more unlikely than a second season at this point. Cretton, for his part, says the prospect of a movie is an “interesting question,” one he can’t answer because Disney won’t share its streaming data with him, so he doesn’t “clearly know if it’s a success or not.”
On the strength of strong reviews, positive word of mouth, and supposedly solid streaming numbers (but apparently not solid enough), Wonder Man had been greenlit for season two last spring. After the cancellation, Abdul-Mateen II released a characteristically chill response. “That’s life, right? Everything will shake out,” the star wrote on Instagram. “I’m glad we got to be a part of something cool. Thank you for watching… And uhh… See you at the EMMYS.”
AIPROPX is an independent multi-source news index — we track, compare, and connect coverage from across the web into one place you won't find anywhere else.