Marvel used to announce its upcoming movies and Disney+ series in advance and roar through the releases. However, after a few of the movies ended up as financial and critical disappointments, Marvel dialed things back, began to show more caution on what it greenlit, and slowed down production massively. The company also seemed gun-shy when it came to sequels and extra seasons of its streaming shows, even when they were critically acclaimed. A good example is Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, which still hasn’t received a sequel five years after its release, despite bringing a box office success with high critical reviews.
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It is even more noticeable on Disney+, where some fan-favorite series aren’t getting second seasons, even after solid viewing totals and critical acclaim. Seven years ago, Marvel announced the arrival of three series that became fan favorites, and they never got a second season between them.
Marvel Announced 3 New Series 7 Years Ago, And All Three Became Fan Favorites
Seven years ago, Marvel announced three upcoming Disney+ streaming series at the 2019 D23 event. Those series included Ms. Marvel, Moon Knight, and She-Hulk: Attorney at Law. All three of those shows came out, and all three became fan favorites, although there were still some fans who hated them for personal reasons that had nothing to do with the actual quality of the shows.
Ms. Marvel stars Iman Vellani as Kamala Khan, a teenage Pakistani-American from Jersey City who is a monster superhero fan, and then one day, she becomes one herself. This is a teenage coming-of-age story, and Vellani remains the best breakout star from the MCU in the 2020s. She represents everything that fans love about Kamala Khan, and her transition into the hero of Ms. Marvel was masterfully done, as she fought her own government and the Department of Damage Control to save her neighborhood. Ms. Marvel has a 98% Rotten Tomatoes score, one of the highest in Marvel history. There was never a second season, although Kamala did return on the big screen in The Marvels and in the animated Marvel Zombies series.
Moon Knight was a harder sell, but it was highly praised as well. What made this series so special is that the showrunners put the viewers in the mind of Steven Grant, not allowing them to see any of the action when Grant lost control to one of his alternate personalities, such as Marc Spector or even Moon Knight. Oscar Isaac was a huge signing as Moon Knight, coming off his role in the Star Wars franchise, and Ethan Hawke was solid as the villain, Arthur Harrow. It ended up as Disney+’s third most-streamed show in 2022 and has an 86% Rotten Tomatoes score. It never received a second season, and Moon Knight hasn’t returned to the MCU.
The third show was more polarizing. Tatiana Maslany starred as Jennifer Walters in She-Hulk: Attorney at Law. The series was formatted as a comedic legal drama, with She-Hulk’s fourth-wall-breaking dialogue a selling point. In Marvel Comics, She-Hulk broke the fourth wall years before Deadpool existed, and the show brought in this John Byrne-created trait for the Hulk’s cousin. Thanks to the more comedic format and the fact that the writing team used the show to bash incels, it faced backlash from a corner of the comic book universe. It was Disney+’s fourth most streamed show of 2022, had an 80% Rotten Tomatoes score, and never got a second season.
Why is Marvel Not Making Second Seasons of Popular Shows?
With all three shows receiving critical acclaim and all three boasting high viewing numbers, it seems curious that none of them received second seasons. However, this year, Marvel canceled its renewal of Wonder Man, which left fans completely shocked. It brought back questions about why Marvel is canceling critically acclaimed and popular shows. While She-Hulk: Attorney at Law was not likely to return thanks to loud fans online bashing the series, it was still the introduction to a character who could have appeared with Hulk down the line. Moon Knight might be around when and if the Midnight Sons get made. There is no excuse for Ms. Marvel missing in action for so many years.
When looking at Wonder Man’s cancellation, Marvel’s thinking about these shows becomes a little clearer. Wonder Man was one of Disney+’s most-watched shows of 2026 so far. It has a 91% Rotten Tomatoes score, with an 87% from the audience. Critics and fans alike praised its departure from the more action-heavy Marvel shows, and it seemed like it was much cheaper to produce than other shows. However, Marvel looked at the numbers and decided they weren’t quite high enough for a second season.
Ms. Marvel falls into the same bucket as Shang-Chi, which is that of a hero who is popular enough to bring back, but maybe not for their own solo sequel or streaming season. Shang-Chi will be back in Avengers: Doomsday, his first appearance in five years. Kamala Khan is rumored for that movie as well, although it has never been announced.
There is a chance Wonder Man could be back in the X-Men universe, since he was hinted at being a mutant in his series. She-Hulk could appear somewhere like Avengers: Secret Wars or in a World War Hulk storyline in the future, if that ever happens. However, there is no word on her return. Moon Knight is a lock for Midnight Sons if that happens, which is more likely with Ryan Gosling’s Ghost Rider coming out in 2028. That said, Marvel doesn’t seem to care about a show’s popularity or acclaim when dishing out second seasons, so most fans should just be happy with the season they get.
