More new details about the upcoming Marvel Cinematic Universe Disney+ TV show She-Hulk have rolled in. We recently heard about She-Hulk during Marvel head Kevin Feige's Disney Investor Day 2020 presentation in early December. During that presentation, Feige updated fans on the Phase 4 movies headed to theaters and 10 new MCU TV shows coming to Disney+ in the near future. One of those new TV shows will be She-Hulk starring Tatiana Maslany and directed by Kat Coiro and Anu Valia. The Disney Investor Day presentation revealed longtime MCU Hulk player Mark Ruffalo would be back as Bruce Banner and, in a big twist, Tim Roth would return as the villain Abomination.
Now, a recent interview with Feige and Emmy Magazine (via Comicbook.com) has elicited yet another enticing detail about the She-Hulk TV show. According to Feige, She-Hulk will be a half-hour legal comedy — something the Marvel Studios head acknowledges is something "we've never done before." The new detail was included as part of Feige's conversation about a variety of upcoming Disney+ Marvel shows, including WandaVision (the first MCU show to launch a jam-packed TV slate), What If...?, and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. And while Feige reportedly failed to confirm Maslany as the star, the Orphan Black alum basically confirmed her casting as the titular She-Hulk, a.k.a. Jennifer Walters, via Instagram on Disney Investor Day.
Feige's confirmation that She-Hulk will be a legal comedy teases some big changes for the frequently sidelined Hulk franchise within the MCU. Since Ruffalo took over the role of Bruce Banner, a.k.a. Hulk, with 2012's Marvel's The Avengers, the gamma-powered scientist has never had a solo movie like many of his MCU pals. Instead, we've only ever seen Ruffalo's Hulk in the big MCU event movies — Avengers: Age of Ultron, Avengers: Infinity War, and Avengers: Endgame — as well as Thor: Ragnarok, which is the closest he's ever gotten to a solo movie while still functioning as the movie's co-lead. Ruffalo has been, arguably, the best of the Hulk actors in the modern era (apologies to Eric Bana and Edward Norton) and as such, it's been a disappointment for this writer to not see Ruffalo get to do his own thing in his own Hulk movie. This is especially true considering the Endgame version of Hulk, which turns him into a medium-sized version of the Big Green Guy and lets him totally nerd out, would make for a very fun solo outing. Hulk has always deserved to have a corner of the MCU carved out for himself and his world and, in a way, that can happen now thanks to She-Hulk.
She-Hulk offers the opportunity for the MCU to really dig into the Hulk franchise and flesh out this world while also establishing what the tone of the Hulk franchise under the Marvel Studios banner will be. The trailers for WandaVision have shown fans that the Marvel/Disney+ TV world will be taking some big creative swings, including exploring news genres. It makes sense that She-Hulk would follow a similar pattern, especially since we're meeting a new character — Jennifer Walters, a.k.a. She-Hulk (Maslany) — for the first time, and the show has the chance to establish whatever vibe it wants. It's extra special that the show will focus on a new Hulk character, with Bruce Banner involved to some degree. (I know I just got done lamenting Ruffalo's Hulk not getting a solo movie, but compared to how little we know about Jennifer Walters combined with the chance to spotlight a female MCU character, I'm cool with keeping Bruce in the supporting lane.)
Turning the world of Jennifer Walters/She-Hulk into a legal comedy will no doubt invite images of, say, the titular attorney spontaneously transforming into her Hulk form while in court. She-Hulk will be able to play around with the sillier aspects of what it means to be a Hulk while also offering an origin story to a Hulk character that this franchise so desperately needs. Plus, this will be a chance for Ruffalo's Hulk to interact with someone of his kind, which opens up room for She-Hulk to explore what it means to be big and green in a world where everyone else is not.
She-Hulk is coming soon to Disney+. In the meantime, find out what Marvel TV shows are coming to Disney+.