Yahya Abdul-Mateen II says Marvel optics are obvious
Yahya Abdul-Mateen II says Marvel's handling of Black-led projects looks clear after his Emmy-nominated Disney+ series Wonder Man was canceled and Mahershala Ali's Blade film never reached production. He told Vanity Fair that if he were Disney, he would not want to be attached to those optics. In short, yahya abdulmateen says the pattern is hard for a major studio to explain away.
Key Takeaways
- Abdul-Mateen said Marvel's "optics" are "obvious" after Wonder Man's cancellation and Blade's collapse.
- Disney+ canceled Wonder Man in July despite a Season 2 renewal and an Emmy nomination for the star.
- He was told the decision involved viewership numbers, though specific figures were not shared.
- Mahershala Ali previously criticized Marvel for failing to make Blade after years of development.
- Abdul-Mateen argued the series had quality storytelling, resources, and audience and Emmy recognition.
What did Yahya Abdul-Mateen II say about Marvel?
When Vanity Fair raised online talk about Marvel's setbacks with two Black-led superhero projects, Abdul-Mateen did not soften his view. "I think the optics are obvious," he said. "If I'm a big business, if I'm Disney, if I'm Marvel, I don't want to be attached to these optics."
He added that changing that narrative should be a priority, through quality stories and quality resources. In his view, Wonder Man already had those ingredients, plus actors and craft that produced quality results viewers and Emmy voters noticed. For more streaming cancellations and renewals, see our Streaming & TV Alerts hub.
Why was Wonder Man canceled after Season 1?
Marvel canceled Wonder Man in July after previously renewing the Disney+ series for Season 2. The first season launched in January. Abdul-Mateen earned an Emmy nomination for playing Simon Williams, an aspiring actor hiding his superpowers. Ben Kingsley returned as Trevor Slattery. Destin Daniel Cretton and Andrew Guest created the show; Cretton directed the first two episodes.
"I was told that it had something to do with the viewership numbers," Abdul-Mateen told Vanity Fair, per Variety. "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."
He also said the show deserves "some study and some real, hard information" about why it did not continue, given what he called its full set of strengths. After the cancellation, he posted on Instagram that the show worked and that he saw that response from fans and YouTube reactors.
How does Blade fit into the same optics debate?
Ali's Blade was announced at Comic-Con in 2019 but never entered production after repeated writing delays and director changes. Ali told GQ he trained for over a year and said that if Marvel had wanted the movie, it would have happened. "If they wanted to do it, we would've done it," he said, citing the studio's resources and his former contract.
Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige later said on Happy Sad Confused that he felt like "a gigantic loser and failure" for not delivering Ali's Blade. Alongside Wonder Man's cancellation, that record is what Abdul-Mateen called obvious optics Disney and Marvel would rather not own—and a narrative he said should be changed with quality stories and resources.