“Being a superhero is for billionaires and narcissists… and adult orphans, for some reason.” Yes, Marvel’s She-Hulk: Attorney at Law is clearly going to have some fun with the Marvel Cinematic Universe when it premieres on Disney Plus on Thursday, Aug. 18.
Here’s everything we know about the show and Jen Walters, the MCU’s newest hero.
She-Hulk cast
Tatiana Maslany stars as Jennifer Walters, the titular superhero who makes her live-action debut in the series. She’s joined by MCU mainstay Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner and by Tim Roth, who played a rival green monster in 2008’s The Incredible Hulk and belatedly returned for last year’s Shang-Chi. The cast also includes Ginger Gonzaga, Renée Elise Goldsberry and Jameela Jamil.
Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo) joins the series to help his cousin, Jennifer Walters (Tatiana Maslany).
Walt Disney StudiosIntriguingly there’s also a rumor that Jason Segal could join the cast, possibly playing Ben Grimm, better known as the big orange rock dude from The Fantastic Four.
The show’s head writer is Jessica Gao, best known for Emmy-winning Rick and Morty episode Pickle Rick. Kat Coiro, director of episodes of Modern Family and Brooklyn Nine-Nine, is in charge of several episodes.
She-Hulk in the comics
In the Marvel comics, Walters is a lawyer who becomes She-Hulk after receiving an emergency blood transfusion from her cousin — one Bruce Banner. Luckily for her, she gets Hulk-like powers without losing her intelligence or personality. As a result she’s able to get on with her “normal” life in her Hulk form.
She-Hulk was created by writer Stan Lee and artist John Buscema in 1980, and first appeared in The Savage She-Hulk No. 1. They invented a female version of the Hulk to stop the people behind the popular Incredible Hulk TV show from getting there first, as The Six Million Dollar Man had done with female-focused spinoff The Bionic Woman.
In 1989, writer John Byrne gave the character a new spin in Sensational She-Hulk. Walters talked directly to the reader, breaking the “fourth wall” between characters and readers. In the series, Maslany’s Walters does the same thing, offering asides to the camera.
The trailer
The trailer reveals the show’s comedic tone, with Walters spending time worrying about her love life in her 30s.
Released in May, the teaser drew criticism for its apparently dodgy CGI, but bear in mind that A) trailers rarely use finished effects and B) most people saw it on YouTube or social media where the video will have gone through who-knows-what processing and compression.
Spoiler alert: A second trailer reveals some of the show’s MCU cameos…
…including Wong and Daredevil.
She-Hulk is part of Phase Four of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, joining Moon Knight and Ms. Marvel in this year’s calendar. Other upcoming Marvel shows include Echo, WandaVision spinoff Agatha: House of Harkness and three new animated shows: Marvel Zombies, Spider-Man: Freshman Year and a revival of the much-loved 1990s X-Men cartoon.
