The Marvel Cinematic Universe is regularly grows and expands, thanks to new projects arriving in theaters and streaming with a Disney+ subscription. Fans who spent years watching the Marvel movies in order will recall the release of She-Hulk: Attorney At Law, which was met with a ton of backlash online. The show's star Tatiana Maslany recently got real about the internet's response, revealing that creator Jessica Gao knew it was going to happen all along.
She-Hulk was trolled online relentlessly by haters, who criticized the show's comedic tone, its visual effects, and the fact that it had a female lead. Personally I loved the series, and found it to have a unique perspective from the rest of the shared universe. And the online hate just felt like folks were determined not to enjoy the superpowered legal comedy. While speaking with Collider about the situation, Maslany offered:
I don't know because to this day, my comments on my Instagram back 40 weeks ago, they like to go in all over there. For me, what's so exciting is that Jessica Gao knew that was going to happen.
I mean, she's not wrong. Like Deadpool, Maslany's character Jennifer Walters / She-Hulk frequently broke the fourth wall and spoke directly to the audience. The show anticipated much of its criticism during these segments, often to hilarious results in my opinion.
While Marvel fans are hyped for upcoming Marvel movies, not every project receives the same amount of love. Female-led projects in particular have suffered recently, including The Marvels bombing at the box office. In the same interview, the Orphan Black actress spoke more about how Gao leaned into the show's eventual reception. As she shared:
She wrote it into the show. There's something in She-Hulk that is looking out, and she's aware of the camera. She's aware of somebody watching her. There's something about the inherent quality to that character that is self-aware and that understands her place within the MCU or within a series or a TV show or a scene or whatever, just like Jennifer Walters is aware of her place within the legal system and how she's struggling as a woman to be taken seriously or to be respected.
The fourth wall breaking was a really effective aspect of She-Hulk: Attorney At Law, and the finale used meta sensibilities even more, including having Jennifer literally jump around the Disney+ home page and speak to a robot named after Kevin Feige.
It should be interesting to see if/when She-Hulk finally returns to the MCU. Leaked concept art of her recently leaked online, seemingly hinting that she'll appear in Avengers: Doomsday and/or Secret Wars. Hopefully we get more information about that sooner rather than later.
Marvel is currently slowing down its TV production, although Daredevil: Born Again is airing new episodes now on Disney+ as part of the 2025 TV premiere list. For now I'll be waiting for She-Hulk's return (as well as my personal favorite character Madisynn King).
You must confirm your public display name before commenting
Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.
