Disney+ may be the place to be for Marvel Cinematic Universe action in the coming years thanks to a number of original series, including The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, the upcoming WandaVision, and of course the highly-anticipated She-Hulk. Unlike some of the other upcoming MCU series, She-Hulk will center on somebody who hasn't made an MCU appearance yet, but the big casting news makes me more hopeful than ever that Mark Ruffalo will join the show as Bruce Banner/Hulk.
Tatiana Maslany of Orphan Black fame has officially landed the role of She-Hulk, a.k.a. Jennifer Walters. Despite actors like Alison Brie of GLOW fame and Gina Carano of The Mandalorian rumored to take the leading role, Maslany has proven herself on the small screen many times and should be a solid fit for the role. So, what does this mean for Mark Ruffalo? Well, the MCU star joined fans in celebrating the news of Tatiana Maslany's casting, posting this on Twitter:
Welcome to the family indeed! Jennifer Walters' traditional Marvel origin story as She-Hulk places her as a lawyer and cousin of none other than Bruce Banner. After she needs an emergency blood transfusion from her cousin, she gains abilities of her own, but not to mindlessly smash and crash a la Hulk at his worst.
In the comics, Jennifer is able to keep her intelligence as well as her personality in her She-Hulk form. And if Mark Ruffalo is welcoming Tatiana Maslany as "cuz," I for one will take it as a good sign that he could appear in She-Hulk! It's worth noting that Ruffalo has shown enthusiasm for She-Hulk ever since the TV show was announced, and hasn't shot down potentially appearing.
In fact, Mark Ruffalo was among the first to celebrate She-Hulk getting her own series when the news first broke back in summer 2019, and he revealed in November 2019 that although he didn't know if he would appear in She-Hulk, he was "supposed to go talk to the great Mr. Feige" to see if "there's some place" for him in the show.
Mark Ruffalo didn't reveal what happened in his talk with Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige, but he dropped some more comments on She-Hulk in March 2020, saying that it's "all kind of preliminary" but that there has been some talk about potential involvement in the series. Even more promisingly, he said that it "would be nice to see Banner, Hulk, Professor, somebody show up to help and to guide or be a gentle guiding presence of She-Hulk as a friend."
It's also worth noting that Jessica Gao, who will serve as showrunner on She-Hulk, posted a response of her own to Mark Ruffalo's welcome message to Tatiana Maslany:
An emoji fist-bump with two Hulk-green hearts on the side? Of course I'm more hopeful than ever that Mark Ruffalo could appear in She-Hulk alongside leading lady Tatiana Maslany! That said, MCU fans already excited about She-Hulk may not want to expect answers any time too soon. She-Hulk isn't expected to go into production until 2021, whereas The Falcon and the Winter Soldier and Loki are currently in production, and WandaVision is scheduled to premiere before the end of 2020.
Stay tuned to CinemaBlend for the latest and greatest in superhero news, and be sure to check out our 2020 fall TV premiere schedule for some upcoming viewing options. If you're in the mood for some MCU, Disney+ has a wide variety of movies, although Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is over on Netflix along with Daredevil, Jessica Jones, and more Marvel shows produced for that streamer.
