While 2021’s Disney+ Marvel series focused on characters we’ve known, 2022 is introducing an all-new roster of heroes to the ever-expanding Marvel cinematic universe. After Moon Knight and Ms. Marvel, fans are set to meet Tatiana Maslany as Jennifer Walters in August when She-Hulk: Attorney at Law premieres. And She-Hulk will be different from previous MCU offerings in many ways. For one, it’s billed as a comedy and a courtroom series. And more importantly, She-Hulk features a protagonist who has zero desire to be a superhero. In the show’s trailer, she quips “Oh, I’m not a superhero. That is for billionaires and narcissists. And adult orphans for some reason.” While many superheroes seek to save the world or grow up with powers, Walters is an established attorney with a life who finds her future upended after she gains Hulk-like powers. While many heroes’ lives don’t really begin until their powers do, Walters is already living the life she wants to live, and now must juggle that with her inconvenient and emotionally-driven abilities.
In an interview with Empire, the Orphan Black star discusses the series, saying “She really is the antithesis of most superhero narratives … There’s this great element of denial in her that’s relatable. For me, it was about rejecting what’s happened for as long as I could, as that’s what causes the fun tension between Jennifer and She-Hulk.” Jennifer’s newfound abilities also clash with her day job as a lawyer heading up the superhuman law division at her law firm. “She’s in a career that’s male-dominated and incredibly vicious and hierarchal,” Maslany said. “When she’s heading this superhuman firm, that’s where we get some really fun characters that she’s either defending or in opposition of. It’s like this really absurd take on a legal show.”
Maslany also described working with Mark Ruffalo (who reprises his role as Bruce Banner/the Hulk) as “We were so goofy, like two kids who had been handed shovels by our parents and told to go and play in the sandbox.” She-Hulk arrives with no shortage of controversy: the trailer was widely criticized for its goofy CGI effects, which will hopefully get ironed out before the premiere. And then there’s the issue of She-Hulk’s character design, which sports less muscles than the Hulk (allegedly at Disney and Marvel’s request). We’re hoping Disney and Marvel figure these issues out, because the show has so much going for it.
She-Hulk: Attorney at Law premieres August 17 on Disney+.
(via Empire, featured image: Marvel/Disney+)
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Published: Jul 5, 2022 05:38 pm