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She-Hulk was inspired by Olympian Misty Copeland

She-Hulk may come from the Marvel comics, but for the new MCU series the creative team looked to inspirational women from the real world

She-Hulk in Marvel comics

The character of She-Hulk may originally come from the pages of comic books, but for the new Marvel series, the creative team looked to inspirational women from the real world to bring the MCU character to life. Most notably, esteemed Olympian Misty Copeland was part of the influence for the look of the new Marvel hero.

The She-Hulk release date is finally here, with the TV series premiering on streaming service Disney Plus on August 18 and new episodes being released weekly. The sci-fi series follows Jennifer Walters (Tatiana Maslany), a hot-shot lawyer and the cousin of Bruce Banner as she gets to grips with her newfound Hulk-like powers after a blood transfusion.

In a recent roundtable attended by The Digital Fix, She-Hulk director Kat Coiro discussed the approach to bringing the iconic superhero to the screen for the new comic book comedy series. In particular, the physical appearance of such a character is obviously very important, and the creative team looked to famous athletes as their inspiration for this aspect of the show.

“You know, we really wanted to create something that was unique to the show. And while it draws inspiration from the comic books, we wanted to make our own She-Hulk and we really looked to real strong women,” Coiro explained.

“Olympian Misty Copeland was a body that we referenced, you know, of someone who was very, very, very strong, but also could walk through the world and operate in the normal world at a scale that is very large, but it’s still very human because she has to go on dates she has to work in a regular office,” Coiro added.

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She-Hulk star Tatiana Maslany had better not get too attached to office life though. According to Mark Ruffalo, She-Hulk will be a part of upcoming MCU movies, including the Avengers 5.

If all the action from the MCU Phase 4 has got you a little lost, here’s how to watch the Marvel movies in order.