"She-Hulk: Attorney at Law" has an amazing lead, the return of Professor Hulk, and some
surprising MCU connections.
So what do you need to know before the big premiere?
Keep watching to find out.
At the D23 presentation in 2019, "Ms. Marvel," "Moon Knight," and "She-Hulk" were all announced
as upcoming series for Disney+ and Marvel Studios.
Almost three years later to the day, "She-Hulk: Attorney at Law" is scheduled to drop on the
streamer on August 17, 2022.
The series will follow the same format as "WandaVision," running for a total of nine
shorter episodes as opposed to the MCU's other shows with six one-hour-ish episodes.
New episodes will drop at 3 a.m.
Eastern on Disney+ every Wednesday.
If "She-Hulk: Attorney at Law" follows the once-per-week format, the series will conclude
with its finale on October 12.
This puts the new show smack dab in the middle of the release dates for "Thor: Love and Thunder"
and "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever."
Joining the MCU in "She-Hulk: Attorney at Law" is "Orphan Black" star Tatiana Maslany
as Jennifer Walters, aka She-Hulk.
In December 2020, Marvel Studios revealed the casting news on social media after Maslany
denied her involvement just two months prior.
The new series marks the first live-action project for Maslany since her stint on HBO's
"Perry Mason" in 2020.
Maslany spoke a little about her upcoming role in "She-Hulk" while chatting with Empire
magazine.
The Canadian actress said part of her inspiration for playing Jennifer came from the late Scottish
musician SOPHIE.
She told Empire,
"What I love about SOPHIE's music is this combo of organic and electrical, industrial-type
sounds that felt connected to She-Hulk."
When it comes to her character, the actress called her story "the antithesis of most superhero
narratives," suggesting we're about to get a whole new take on MCU heroes.
The second original Avenger getting some time in an MCU Disney+ series is Mark Ruffalo,
returning to the role of Bruce Banner after his appearance in the post-credits of "Shang-Chi
and the Legend of the Ten Rings."
Ruffalo's last major MCU role was in "Avengers: Endgame," and it looks like "She-Hulk: Attorney
at Law" might be his final performance with the studio.
Based on comments he made to Access Hollywood at the "Adam Project" premiere, it's being
speculated that Ruffalo will retire from the MCU.
He had high praise for Maslany:
"Frickin' legendary as the She-Hulk.
I'm passing the 'banner' onto her."
Based on what we see in the trailer for "She-Hulk," he'll serve as something of a Hulk coach to
Jennifer Walters while she acclimates to her newfound powers.
After almost a year of rumors, "The Good Place" actress Jameela Jamil confirmed she was joining
the MCU in "She-Hulk: Attorney at Law" in her debut TikTok post.
Jamil will play Titania , aka Mary MacPherran, a longtime rival of She-Hulk.
The comic book version of Mary gains her powers from Doctor Doom after she is swept away into
Battleworld.
She wields superhuman strength and is an expert in hand-to-hand combat.
She's quite the match for She-Hulk, but normally finds herself the loser in their many battles.
Since "The Good Place" concluded in 2020, Jamil has been more selective about the projects
she takes on.
Jamil told Hollywood Life,
"I always want what I do to try and align or embolden my social justice work.
I feel like that is something that we are achieving with this show — we're saying
something important.
We're doing something important, we're pushing the boundaries."
When a new MCU project is on the horizon, a frenzy begins online as fans try to figure
out if there will be any cameos.
"She-Hulk: Attorney at Law" is no different.
Only this time around, two cameos have already been confirmed by Marvel Studios and Disney.
After appearing in 2021's "Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings" for a brief fight
scene, Abomination will return for "She-Hulk."
This time, we'll get to see him in his human form, and Emil Blonsky, played by Tim Roth,
even makes an appearance in the trailer.
He's locked in a special cell, so we know he's still not to be trusted 14 years after
his MCU introduction.
"How do you feel?"
"Pissed off and ready for round three."
Also joining "She-Hulk: Attorney at Law" is Wong, played by Benedict Wong, fresh off his
recent appearance in "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness."
We haven't seen Wong yet in a trailer for the show, but since he was the sorcerer fighting
Abomination in "Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings," it makes sense that he would
show up.
There are plenty of other rumors suggesting characters from all across the MCU will cameo,
from Liv Tyler's return as Betty Ross to Krysten Ritter reprising her role as Jessica Jones,
but these should be taken with a grain of salt.
The first official trailer for "She-Hulk: Attorney at Law" shocked the MCU fandom by
giving them a brief glimpse of Frog-Man.
A popular Twitter spoiler account had previously leaked the character's inclusion in the series,
but it wasn't taken too seriously at the time.
No actor has been connected to Frog-Man, but with Josh Segarra and Griffin Matthews attached
to unknown characters, it's reasonably safe to assume one of them is playing the obscure
character.
Not to be confused with his dad, the villainous Leap-Frog, Frog-Man first appeared in 1982's
"Marvel Team-Up #121."
When Leap-Frog, real name Vincent Patilio, gets arrested and put away, his son Eugene
decides to use the mantle as a force for good under the modified identity of Frog-Man.
There is no substantial direct connection between Jennifer Walters and Eugene in the
comics.
However, Leap-Frog's criminal endeavors frequently pit him against Daredevil, and Matt Murdock
just so happens to be a lawyer who recently made his post-Netflix MCU debut in "Spider-Man:
No Way Home," so that connection could explain his appearance.
According to the official synopsis from Disney+, "She-Hulk: Attorney at Law" will focus on
Jennifer Walters, an attorney working at a firm that deals with superhuman clients.
Jennifer will also navigate a complicated love life, which is depicted in the first
trailer for the series.
As she searches for dates, Jennifer will be in her Hulk form, as it looks like the world
has already accepted her new look.
As previously mentioned, Mark Ruffalo's Hulk will teach Jennifer how to handle her new
6-foot-7-inch form and superhuman strength.
Everything looks fresh for Jennifer in "She-Hulk," as she is taking on a new job, new physique,
and new romantic interests all at the same time.
Not to mention her first opponent in Titania.
There's a brief moment in the trailer where the two women battle it out in a courtroom,
but the root of their issues in this particular series is still in the air.
Much as the Hawkeye mantle was passed on to Kate Bishop in "Hawkeye," we expect the same
sort of thing to happen in "She-Hulk," with Maslany being the MCU's primary green giant
moving forward.
"Yes!
Yes!
No!
NO!"
We all know by now how Bruce Banner gets his powers, but the origin of She-Hulk's powers
is a little more obscure, simply because the character has spent comparatively little time
in mainstream media.
Unless you are a Marvel Comics reader, you might be totally unaware of how Jennifer bulks
up.
Based on what we see in the trailer, we expect to see Jennifer get her powers early in the
series.
It would be a surprise to find out she already has them by the time the show begins, although
that's not impossible.
Here's how it goes down: Jennifer is shot by a man named Nicholas Trask who is seeking
revenge against her father.
Her wounds are grave, and she needs a blood transfusion, so her cousin Bruce steps up
to help her out when there are no other options.
With gamma radiation coursing through his veins, there was no way to avoid Jennifer
getting the irradiated blood into her system.
But it's not just Bruce's blood that turns her; it's her anger and fear that really does
the trick.
"Those are like the baseline of any woman, like, existing."
And just like that, she becomes superhuman.
Jennifer is not quite as powerful as Bruce in her Hulk form, and her stature is slightly
smaller, which makes her look more humanlike and less monster-like.
As with the three most recent Marvel Studios/Disney+ series, "She-Hulk: Attorney at Law" will have
more than one director.
"She-Hulk" will be split between Kat Coiro and Anu Valia.
Coiro has directed episodes of popular projects like "Dead to Me" and "It's Always Sunny in
Philadelphia," while Valia is known for her work on "A.P. Bio" and the "Sex and the City"
revival series "And Just Like That..."
Coiro pushed hard to get the job, telling Collider,
"I'm a huge fan of the MCU, and I was actually a giant fan of the She-Hulk comics, so when
I heard they were making it, I went full court press and really sold myself as the person
to bring this story to life.
It was a huge and involved process."
In an Instagram post from December 2020, Valia revealed Coiro is taking the lead on "She-Hulk:
Attorney at Law," writing,
"friggin stoked to go on this ride together ([Coiro] is our visionary leader im just doing
a few eppys !! but it'll be a fun one)."
The Hollywood Reporter revealed that Jessica Gao was hired as head writer for "She-Hulk:
Attorney at Law" back in November 2019.
Gao is an Emmy-winning writer who nabbed the gold statue for her work on the "Rick and
Morty" episode "Pickle Rick."
She also has writing credits on "Robot Chicken," "Big Time Rush," and "Silicon Valley," just
to name a few.
Gao was absolutely flabbergasted to get the job on "She-Hulk," and shared her excitement
in an Instagram post after the big news was announced.
She wrote,
"DREAM COME TRUE.
I AM DECEASED.
(Don't worry, I will resurrect to do the job.)"
Subsequent social media posts of Gao's regarding the new Disney+ series have only mirrored
her initial excitement.
She shared casting news to her feed, and when the first trailer was released, Gao also told
the world on Instagram that she couldn't wait for everyone to see Maslany in the role.
We know for certain that "She-Hulk: Attorney at Law" connects to "Shang-Chi and the Legend
of Ten Rings" in a minor way with a blink-and-you'll miss it confirmation in the trailer.
When we see Wong leaving the fight club in the Phase 4 film, he opens a portal, and on
the other side is a room with a large cell in the middle of it.
The same cell can be seen in the "She-Hulk" trailer, where Jennifer Walters talks to an
imprisoned Emil Blonsky.
As far as future projects, it's possible we'll see "She-Hulk" connect to the "Thunderbolts"
movie recently declared as in-development.
Some fans think Emil is being held in The Cube — a SHIELD prison that houses various
super-powered criminals, occasionally of the gamma-irradiated variety.
All we're saying is if Valentina Allegra de Fontaine needs someone to join a team already
consisting of John Walker and Yelena Belova, she could probably swing by The Cube and offer
Emil a deal without much trouble.
Fans weren't too happy with the quality of the CGI in the first "She-Hulk: Attorney at
Law" trailer, but that's not the only controversy surrounding the series.
A few sources have come forward to say there were some problems behind the scenes.
Former Variety and Collider writer Jeff Sneider revealed in March 2022 on his "The Hot Mic
with Jeff and John" podcast, that he's heard about issues with "She-Hulk," claiming,
"I've heard not good things behind the scenes ... and I've asked whether it's 'Moon Knight'
or 'Ms. Marvel' or 'Secret Invasion' or any of these [projects], they are always like,
'She-Hulk is the one that could be a problem."
Former Hollywood Reporter editor Matthew Belloni mentioned in his website's newsletter in May
2022 that the newest Disney+ series are being watched carefully, writing,
"The upcoming 'She-Hulk' is supposedly a mess, I've heard (even with Mark Ruffalo in a small
role), and 'Ms. Marvel' is another big test for fans.
Nobody's saying Marvel's TV output is in trouble, but it's something to keep an eye on."
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