Wonder Man star Yahya Abdul-Mateen II has opened up on the show’s unexpected cancellation, weeks after Marvel reversed the decision to commission a second season.

The series, which stars Abdul-Mateen as Simon Williams, a struggling actor with superpowers, drew effusive reviews when it debuted on Disney+ back in January.

It was initially announced that a second season had been greenlit; however, in July, Marvel confirmed that the show had been cancelled.

Abdul-Mateen told Vanity Fair that he had been told the decision was down to the size of its audience.

“I was told that it had something to do with the viewership numbers,” he said. “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.”

The actor, who before Wonder Man was best known for HBO’s Watchmen and playing Morpheus in the The Matrix Resurrections, likened the cancellation to the show’s own story.

In Wonder Man, his character is an actor attempting to be cast in a remake of the film Wonder Man.

“It’s a lesson in life,” Abdul-Mateen said. “It’s so close to what real life is. You have just this guy, Simon, who finally had his dreams come true, but we saw him overcome after all of his attempts of getting close and then not closing the deal. Many people have that experience in real life. The cancellation of the show was just another one of those examples.

“I did that job for all of the right reasons, the reasons in my heart, and I had a great time doing that job,” he continued.

For his performance, Abdul-Mateen was nominated for an Emmy Award for Best Actor in a Comedy Series, with the ceremony set to take place next month.

“I’m just glad to still have an occasion to talk about the show and to represent the show.”

Speaking about a prospective second season, the actor admitted he “had my hopes and my dreams about where I wanted the character to go”.

“I was very interested in telling the story of Simon, who we watched pursue everything he’s always wanted,” he continued. And then I think, for me, the interesting question to explore is: Well, what are you going to do when you finally get it? What do you do when you finally get everything that you’ve always wanted? And for a guy like Simon to get fame and notoriety and a little bit of power, he has a big heart, but he also has an ego. He also wants to be a star.”

Wonder Man is available to stream now on Disney+.