Yahya Abdul-Mateen II Opens Up About ‘Wonder Man’ Un-Renewal: “It’s a Lesson in Life”

Wonder Man star Yahya Abdul-Mateen II is opening up about the un-renewal of the series.

“ I was told that it had something to do with the viewership numbers,” he said in an interview with Vanity Fair . “I wasn’t told what those numbers were, but ultimately, for whatever reason it was, I think they decided that it didn’t make sense for business, and that’s the decision that we live with and we keep on marching forward.”

Disney+ renewed the Marvel series for a second season in March but then reversed course and un-renewed the show in late July. Related Stories TV Darren Criss, Sherry Cola Join Disney's 'Hidden Heroes: A Descendants Story' Movies 'Spider-Man: Brand New Day' Hits $2B Globally to Top 'No Way Home' as Sony's Biggest Release

Abdul-Mateen likened the un-renewal to the plot of the show, in which he starred as Simon, an aspiring actor whose goal is to be in a remake of the film Wonder Man. Simon also has superpowers, which he must keep hidden. Ben Kingsley reprised his role as actor Trevor Slattery, introduced in 2013’s Iron Man 3.

“It’s a lesson in life,” Abdul-Mateen said. “It’s so close to what real life is. You have just this guy, Simon, who finally had his dreams come true, but we saw him overcome after all of his attempts of getting close and then not closing the deal. Many people have that experience in real life. The cancellation of the show was just another one of those examples.”

The actor, who earned an Emmy nomination for best actor in a comedy series for his performance, added that he still has a fondness for the show.

“I did that job for all of the right reasons, the reasons in my heart, and I had a great time doing that job,” he said. “I’m just glad to still have an occasion to talk about the show and to represent the show.”

As for what the story line might have looked like in season two, Abdul-Mateen said he wasn’t part of that, deferring to the “fantastic writers [who] did a great job of setting the tone for season one.”

But, he added, “I had my hopes and my dreams about where I wanted the character to go for season two. I was very interested in telling the story of Simon, who we watched pursue everything he’s always wanted. And then I think, for me, the interesting question to explore is: Well, what are you going to do when you finally get it? What do you do when you finally get everything that you’ve always wanted? And for a guy like Simon to get fame and notoriety and a little bit of power, he has a big heart, but he also has an ego. He also wants to be a star.”

The day after news of the un-renewal broke, Abdul-Mateen posted about it on Instagram.

“Word just dropped that Wonder Man won’t be coming back,” he wrote. “That’s life, right? Everything will shake out. 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.