During its presentation at Disney’s D23 convention in Anaheim, California, Marvel revealed that it was expanding its catalog of live-action superhero shows, which will include a series based on She-Hulk.
News of Ms. Marvel broke earlier today, but the studio unveiled details for She-Hulk during tonight’s presentation. The series will join the studio’s upcoming Phase 4 slate of projects, which already includes several live-action shows: The Falcon and Winter Soldier, WandaVision, Loki, and Hawkeye, which are slated to begin streaming in 2020 and 2021. The company didn’t reveal when She-Hulk will premiere on the service.
She-Hulk is a long-standing figure in the Marvel Universe. She first appeared in 1980, and is the alter ego of Jennifer Walters. After a receiving a blood transfusion from her cousin, Bruce Banner, she gained similar transformative powers.
The announcement of the series comes as Disney has begun to build out its selection of original shows for Disney+ as a way to attract subscribers away from competing streaming services like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video. Disney previously partnered with Netflix for a series of live-action superhero shows, bringing Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, Iron Fist, and The Punisher to life, all of which have since been canceled.
If you don’t watch this show, she’ll come to your house and rip up all your X-Men comics.
I hope they capture the light-hearted side of this character. I’ve always loved it when they approach her adventures with a good sense of humor.
IIRC, one of her powers was the ability to break the 4th wall, something which seriously confused the Marvel characters around her.
But, live action? Are they going to use real time computer morphing, as was done to create the 98 lb weakling version of Steve Rogers? Or body paint on a female bodybuilder?
Brett Bellmore: Um, they’ve been doing Bruce Banner and the Hulk with a CGI’d Mark Ruffalo for six movies (seven if you count the Ang Lee film in addition to the MCU), so why are you even asking that?
—Keith R.A. DeCandido
#4: True. The better, or better-phrased, question may be how much first-quality CGI is affordable on a streaming-series budget vs. what’s affordable for a top-tier feature film, and thereby how much the series might have to rely on recycled or stock footage. And while the tech has certainly gotten better over time, this may also be a case where size and resolution of people’s primary viewing screens comes into play.
Keith, remember, She-Hulk has always (almost always) been drawn with regular proportions, just taller than most women. While Hulk has usually been a massive… hulk… She-Hulk has usually been fairly normal. Paint on an exceptionally tall, muscular woman wouldn’t be out of bounds. But like you said, they could certainly go the CGI route. I don’t think that’s unreasonable.
Regardless of who they cast (and I have my candidates), the important thing here is to make it stand out, and focus not necessarily on the fourth wall breaking, but on the “superhuman law” aspect of her more recent books.