When Disney+ abruptly canceled Marvel's Wonder Man season 2 shortly after its renewal, it sparked outrage over the loss of rare, positive Haitian representation in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Miami native and Haitian-American actor Bechir Slyvain spoke out about the cancellation's cultural impact amid the ongoing immigration crackdown in the Haitian community.
“There's no other show that actually gives you an insight of how we live day to day,” Slyvain told WLRN. The “timing was horrible.”
In Marvel's Disney+ series Wonder Man, an aspiring actor with hidden superpowers chases a breakout role against his Haitian immigrant family's wishes. The show starred Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as Simon Williams, alongside actor Sir Ben Kingsley as his eccentric mentor, Trevor Slattery.
The show was co-created by Destin Daniel Cretton (Spider-Man: Brand New Day).
Despite strong critical reception, including an Emmy nod for Abdul-Mateen, Marvel and Disney+ in July canceled Wonder Man, reversing the Season 2 renewal they had just announced in March.
“We had such an incredible show that not only represented the Black culture, but represented Haitian culture as well, too,” said Sylvain, who played Sanford Williams, the father of the main character Simon Williams.
Wonder Man is not traditionally Haitian in the comics, so the series reimagined the Wonder Man’s family as Haitian-American, which provided a highly praised portrayal of Haitian culture in mainstream media.
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Moments like the 'Table Scene,' where Wonder Man tries to explain his acting struggles to his emotionally supportive, Kreyol-speaking mother and his uber-successful older brother — who passionately rejects his career path for a more stable one — illustrate what a typical dinner table conversation looks like in a Haitian household.
“And one of the biggest issues I feel, specifically when it comes to Haitian people in this country, we see how the news is going right now, and people [Haitian nationals] getting brace anklets and being treated extremely badly, “he said. “It's because of the lack of knowledge of who we are. People don't care because they don't know. Simple.”
Haitian reaction, TPS timing
Right around the time the Wonder Man cancellation became public, the U.S. government advanced the termination of Temporary Protected Status or TPS for roughly 350,000 Haitians nationwide.
“ I feel like the timing, although I know it's not timed like that, but the timing was just so crazy 'cause that same week TPS was over. Folks are really struggling to figure out what they're gonna do with their life and possibly go to a place where they might die,” he said.
“I got from my people saying how much they really appreciate it, 'cause sometimes all we need is hope. All they need is a little bit of positivity to be like, "Oh, okay, cool. At least I'm being seen. At least I'm being something."
Fans confused, outraged
While big studios often experience delays for major projects, many fans on social media saw the sudden cancellation of Wonder Man as part of a troubling pattern of diverse-led Marvel Cinematic Universe projects struggling to secure long-term studio support. They point to the indefinite delays for Armor Wars starring Don Cheadle, and canceled Blade reboot starring Oscar-winner Mahershala Ali as other examples of this trend.
“Again, you had me under contract, they have billions of dollars, if they wanted to do the movie, we would’ve done the movie. So we’re not doing the movie,” Ali told GQ.
Marvel Studios chief Kevin Feige, who announced Ali’s casting as Blade at Comic-Con nearly a decade ago, said he felt "like a gigantic loser and failure that we didn’t get off the ground with Mahershala,” on the Happy Sad Confused podcast.
The sudden cancellation of Wonder Man shocked the production team, as contracts were allegedly already signed and a Season 2 outline completed.
In a recent TikTok video, co-creator writer and showrunner Andrew Guest confirmed the abrupt pivot and questioned the types of stories major studios are choosing to prioritize.
“I appreciate everybody getting out there and letting your voices be heard about how you feel about this,” Guest said. “There's important conversations being had online about the kinds of stories that we're prioritizing, and the kind of shows that platforms want to make. I hope people are listening."
Sylvain told WLRN although he still plans to continue working in Hollywood, now is the time to also rely on independent projects to help humanize and amplify underrepresented Black stories.
He said ownership levels the creative playing field.
“So to all the people that are getting upset about it, have your moment, have your feelings, but hopefully this motivates you to support Black artists, Black producers, Black-owned entities,” he said.
“Because at least back in the day, if something did good, you knew that it was gonna be successful. This is straight up a slap saying, "It doesn't even matter if you're successful. I could take this away from you.”
