The ninth television series in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Secret Invasion, was created by Kyle Bradstreet and starred Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Furry. It was based on the 2008 Marvel Comics storyline of the same name and tells the tale of Nick Furry and Talos as they uncover a Skrull conspiracy to conquer Earth. The first six episodes of the series aired from June 2023 to July 2023.
The makers of Secret Invasion, the first episode of Phase Five of the MCU, had high hopes for the program, but both critics and viewers had conflicting feelings about it. The failure of Secret Invasion has led to rumors that Marvel Studios may be canceling the upcoming series, Wonder Man.
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Marvel Studios’ Wonder Man is reportedly being scrapped
According to news reported by CBR, author of the new Marvel book MCU: The Reign of Marvel Studios Joanna Robinson, mentioned that there have been rumors of the studios’ scrapping its upcoming Disney+ series Wonder Man.
During an interview on The Watch podcast, Joanna Robinson said,
“Even after we heard about [the] ‘Daredevil’ [situation], I’ve also heard again, that they are trashing the ‘Wonder Man’ project like there is a lot of stuff that is going to go in the can.”
The news of Wonder Man being axed by Marvel Studios comes after the news of Daredevil makers firing their writers to rebuild the show from scratch, which shocked the audience. It was reported that the Wonder Man series was in production when the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes brought the work to a complete halt.
The Writers Guild of America ended the strike on 27th September 2023 and the contract was officially ratified on October 9th by the WGA. Yahya Abdul-Mateen II was finalized to play the lead Simon Williams/Wonder Man in the series which is now being axed.
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What is Wonder Man about?
Wonder Man, also known as Mr. Simon Williams, a fictional character created by Stan Lee, Don Heck, and Jack Kirby, first appeared in The Avengers #9 of Marvel Comics in 1964. The character was first introduced as an ionic-powered criminal who battled the Avengers while working for the evil Baron Zemo. However, a sequence of circumstances led to his rebirth as a superhero, and he now works with the Avengers.
The series was expected to have 10 episodes being directed by James Ponsoldth, and Destin Daniel Cretton as the producer of the show, with Andrew Guest serving as both head writer and the executive producer of the show. Although Marvel Studios never officially announced the show, it did manage to grab the attention of the audience who were eagerly waiting for the production to start once the strikes came to an end.
There hasn’t been any confirmation of the series being scrapped officially, so there could be a chance for the show to come to life, maybe with a new mindset.
Did Secret Invasion’s failure affect Wonder Man’s future in the MCU?
It cannot, however, be confirmed if the failure of Samuel L. Jackson starrer show Secret Invasion could directly affect the upcoming show, but it can, however, be speculated that it might have had an effect since Secret Invasion was the first series from Phase Five and it failed to impress the audience.
There have been various reasons why the Secret Invasion failed to achieve its expectations. According to Movie Web, the run time for the show with six episodes was not a good fit as the story took four episodes to figure out what the bad guys wanted which apparently the audience knew already. The reports suggested that it was obvious that the makers had a hard time justifying their storyline and the characters for the audience in the given time.
Some fans and critics also pointed out that the show lacked real surprises and there wasn’t much for the viewers to be excited about the show’s next episode a week later. They noted that maybe if the series was made into a movie, it would have worked better for the audience and the studios, but as a TV series, it just didn’t make the audience as excited as the studios had expected them to.
Director Ali Selim spoke to Variety about the mixed response of the audience to the show and said,
“With all due respect. For me, I view all the storytelling work I do as dialogue with an audience. When the show is finished and put up on the screen, that’s my half of the dialogue. And the audience then starts their half of the response to it. I think that’s valuable, but I don’t know. I don’t know how to answer the question”.
He added that he doesn’t feel bad about mixed reviews, noting that once you had unanimously good reviews, every movie would gross $10 billion, a trillion dollars, right? The director pointed out that every project resonates with different people at different times for different reasons, and Marvel has a very devoted, even rabid fan base who have expectations and when their expectations aren’t fulfilled, they move in the other direction; they give it a thumbs down.
Secret Invasion is streaming on Disney+
Frequently asked questions
Did Marvel actually cancel the Wonder Man series?
No official cancellation was ever confirmed. The article is based on a rumor from journalist Joanna Robinson (author of MCU: The Reign of Marvel Studios) on The Watch podcast, reported by CBR, suggesting the project was being shelved. Marvel Studios never officially announced or canceled the show, so the claim should be treated as an unverified report rather than confirmed news.
Who was cast in the Wonder Man series and who was making it?
Yahya Abdul-Mateen II was set to play the lead role of Simon Williams / Wonder Man. The Disney+ series was being shepherded by Destin Daniel Cretton (director of Shang-Chi) as producer, with James Ponsoldt directing and Andrew Guest as head writer and executive producer. It was reportedly planned for roughly 10 episodes, and production was among the projects halted by the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes.
Why was Secret Invasion considered a disappointment?
Critical and audience reaction to the six-episode Disney+ series, led by Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury, was mixed. Many felt it lacked real surprises and weekly momentum, taking about four episodes to reveal what the Skrull villains wanted, which much of the audience had already guessed. Director Ali Selim addressed the divided response in a Variety interview, saying he viewed storytelling as a dialogue with the audience and didn’t feel bad about mixed reviews.
