It’s fair to say the MCU is getting a bit of stick at the moment from fans and critics who are suffering from superhero fatigue, but no project has taken a beating quite like She-Hulk, and it’s not even been released yet! The showrunner of the upcoming MCU series has spoken out, and given some details as to what to expect from what is described as a sitcom within the MCU timeline.
She-Hulk is a TV series which will drop on the streaming service Disney Plus, with a She-Hulk release date set for August 17, 2022, and episodes airing weekly like its predecessors on the small screen. The show will star Tatiana Maslany as Jennifer Walters, who is the cousin of MCU character Bruce Banner, and is something of a hot-shot lawyer. Oh, and she also turns big and green.
In an interview with SFX Magazine, showrunner Jessica Gao discussed the approach to bringing this character to life and how the sci-fi series will differ from the tone of most MCU movies.
“It’s really threading a fine line between situational comedy – and there is a sitcom element as a lot of the writers come from the sitcom world – but still existing within the MCU,” Gao explained.
“That was always the challenge. Even Kevin [Feige] has described it as a half-hour legal show, so there’s a little bit of Ally McBeal in there,” she continued. “But you also still have to feel like you’re within this universe.”
Gao is clearly very keen to do something different with her time in the MCU, and is focused on the person rather than the powers. “I didn’t want to just have a show that was talking about superhero stuff only. She’s a person first and then she had superpowers dumped on top of her.”
“She’s this highly educated woman whose life gets completely thrown off track,” Gao said. “I really wanted her to have a well-rounded life,” she added.