‘Scrubs’ Star Zach Braff Reveals He Nearly Directed an Episode of ‘Wonder Man’ Season 2 Before Its Sudden Cancellation
Marvel’s Disney+ television slate has had its share of unpredictable twists over the past year, but few reversals stung quite like the fate of ‘Wonder Man.’ The Emmy-nominated series had built genuine critical goodwill during its first season, making its eventual cancellation feel especially abrupt to those who’d already signed on for a second run.
That abruptness apparently extended well beyond the show’s own cast and crew. As it turns out, at least one outside director had also gotten far enough into the process to believe he’d landed a spot behind the camera for Season 2, only to watch the opportunity disappear almost as quickly as it arrived.
That director was Zach Braff, who revealed during a recent conversation about ‘Scrubs’ that he’d actively pursued a directing gig on ‘Wonder Man’ Season 2 before Marvel abruptly pulled the plug on the show. Braff explained that his ‘Scrubs’ co-star Donald Faison shared his enthusiasm for the series and had long encouraged him to break into Marvel or Star Wars directing work.
“Donald and I both shared a love of the show Wonder Man, and he’s always wanted me to work with Marvel, and so I had a meeting with them, and I was like, ‘I love your show. Please put me on the list for consideration to direct Season 2,'” Braff said. “And they said, ‘We love your work. Yes, consider yourself on the list.’ And Donald and I were high-fiving.”
That excitement was short-lived. Braff continued describing what happened just a week later, when the news of the cancellation reached him directly. “And then about a week later, they said, ‘You know that show that’s very popular and just got Emmy nominations, we’ve cancelled it.’… That close!” he said, in comments made during the same interview.
Braff’s account lines up with just how far along preparations for Season 2 had actually progressed before Marvel and Disney reversed course. Showrunner Andrew Guest had already written the Season 2 premiere and developed a full outline for the remaining episodes, with contracts signed and a writers’ room scheduled to begin. Production itself was slated to start early the following year.
Guest previously addressed the cancellation directly, describing it as the result of an internal decision between Disney and Marvel rather than any creative disagreement among the show’s team. He specifically noted that star Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, director Destin Daniel Cretton, Ben Kingsley and himself had all remained eager to continue the series right up until the reversal.
‘Wonder Man’ initially seemed like an unlikely candidate for cancellation given its reception. The series, which followed aspiring actor Simon Williams as he juggled hiding his superpowers while chasing a Hollywood breakthrough, earned Abdul-Mateen an Emmy nomination for lead actor in a comedy series, making him the only actor to receive Emmy nominations for both Marvel and DC projects.
Viewership numbers told a more complicated story. According to Luminate, the show generated approximately 549.6 million viewing minutes during its first ten days, a total that compared unfavorably to other Marvel releases given that all eight episodes were available immediately at launch. Disney has not offered a specific public explanation for reversing the renewal, though reports have indicated the characters could still resurface in future Marvel projects down the line.
New trailer for Marvel’s ‘WONDER MAN’
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For Braff, the near-miss adds an unexpected footnote to his and Faison’s ongoing hopes of eventually breaking into a major franchise like Marvel or Star Wars. Whether that opportunity resurfaces down the road remains uncertain, but for now, ‘Wonder Man’ stands as one of the more surprising close calls in recent Marvel television history.
What do you think about Zach Braff nearly landing a directing role on Wonder Man Season 2 before the show was canceled?
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