Wonder Man: "Scrubs" Star Zach Braff Was On Season 2's Directors List
· BCPosted in: Disney+, Movies, TV | Tagged: Wonder Man
Wonder Man: "Scrubs" Star Zach Braff Was On Season 2's Directors List
Zach Braff (Scrubs) revealed that he was on the list of directors for Wonder Man Season 2 - until the show was canceled a week later.
Published Sat, 26 Sep 2026 17:03:09 -0500
by Ray Flook
|
Comments
Article Summary
- Actor/filmmaker Zach Braff says Marvel put him on the Wonder Man Season 2 directors list after he praised the first season.
- A week later, Braff learned Wonder Man Season 2 was canceled, ending his chance to direct the Marvel series.
- Yahya Abdul-Mateen II says Wonder Man was canceled over viewership, despite an earlier Season 2 renewal.
- Abdul-Mateen called the Marvel Studios optics obvious, urging better support for Black-led MCU stories.
What led to Yahya Abdul-Mateen II and Ben Kingsley-starring Wonder Man to go from being renewed for a second season to being unrenewed out of nowhere is going to make for a fascinating in-depth article or book sometime down the road. For now, all we can do is pick up on the bits of intel that we get here and there – like how actor and filmmaker Zach Braff (ABC's Scrubs, Garden State) was on the list to direct an episode of the second season. During a recent interview in support of the second season of the ABC medical comedy-drama, Donald Faison mentioned how much he wanted Braff to direct something in the Marvel or "Star Wars" universe, joking how it would be a great way for him to join one of those universes. Then, Braff shares that he was a fan of the first season of Wonder Man and had asked to be on the list of directors for the second season, and that Marvel said they would love to have him. But a week later, Braff got hit with the bad news…
Wonder Man, Other Marvel Studios Moves "Bad Optics": Abdul-Mateen II
Despite the excitement generated by all the Avengers: Doomsday and "X-Men" news, a number of fans believe that Marvel Studios' MCU has a serious problem with how it handles its Black characters. Some of the examples given include Anthony Mackie's Sam Wilson never being given a cinematic opportunity to step out from Steve Rogers' (Chris Evans) shadow, how shows such as Eyes of Wakanda and Ironheart weren't marketed as strongly as they could have been, the fact that Marvel Studios still hasn't been able to make a Blade film happen, and – most recent – the unrenewing of Wonder Man.
Speaking with Vanity Fair, Abdul-Mateen shared that viewing numbers were the reason the show was canceled, even after it had been given a Season 2 green light. "I was told that it had something to do with the viewership numbers. 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 shared.
Regarding the criticism that Marvel Studios' moves have resulted in "bad optics" for the MCU, Abdul-Mateen noted, "I think the optics are obvious. If I'm a big business, if I'm Disney, if I'm Marvel, I don't want to be attached to these optics." The Emmy Award-nominated actor added, "It should be a priority to change that narrative and to do what it takes to responsibly change that narrative with quality stories, with quality resources. I felt that our show did have quality story, did have quality resources, did have quality actors and people, and did produce quality results that the viewers responded to positively, that the voters responded to positively. So our show does deserve some study and some real, hard information about why a show like this did not continue forward, because it had all of the ingredients that one would want in a show."
Stay up-to-date and support the site by following Bleeding Cool on Google News today!