When Tatiana Maslany was announced to be starring as Jennifer Walters/She-Hulk, Marvel fans were excited about another talented actress playing a popular Marvel character. However, when the trailers and promotional material for She-Hulk: Attorney at Law were released, fans were concerned with the forced slapstick comedy and the show’s handling of the fourth-wall-breaking trait of the character.
The show ultimately was criticized by fans despite receiving good reviews from critics. Fans’ concerns came true and it is considered one of the worst entries in the MCU. Instead of owning up to the show’s failure, Maslany honed in on how the show itself predicted the criticism that was about to emerge.
Tatiana Maslany’s Defense for The Poor Reception for She-Hulk is Ridiculous
Tatiana Maslany debuted in the MCU as Jennifer Walters/ She-Hulk in the MCU show She-Hulk: Attorney at Law in 2022. The show differentiated itself from other MCU series on Disney+ by being a half-hour Ally McBeal-inspired comedy showcasing Walters as an attorney and her superhero antics as She-Hulk. Fans were not happy with the show and it became added to the whole M-She-U criticism that fans have been complaining about.
Forced/ awkward female representation and the excessive girl power aspect of recent female-led Marvel projects have been a problem for fans (a 32% score on Rotten Tomatoes). In response to the show’s criticism. Maslany made a rather blunt response to it pointing out how the show and creator Jessica Gao showcased its meta nature by predicting the criticisms. She added that that was the whole point of the show. Maslany told The Independent,
“I think what’s exciting…” – she checks herself – “… exciting, ha. I think what’s fun about it is that [series creator] Jessica Gao built into the story that people were going to troll us. Why does every superhero have to be a woman now? When we started to get the same responses that [Gao] had actually baked into the writing, it felt like part of the fun”
Even though Maslany’s points are evident in the show, it doesn’t explain the subpar quality of the narrative. The show pointing out fans’ criticism of the superhero genre does not mean that the show is at liberty to succumb to all sorts of tomfoolery (which it eventually was). Artists must take responsibility for the success/failure of their work and aim to do better with their future projects.
Tatiana Maslany Says She-Hulk Season 2 is Not Happening
It was recently reported that Disney and Marvel were cutting down on their expenditure and canceling shows and films that weren’t necessary or worth doing. Bob Iger also touched on this aspect recently (via Forbes). It seems a possible season 2 of She-Hulk: Attorney at Law fell into this category as the show’s star Tatiana Maslany revealed that the show blew its budget.
In an appearance on the Codenames LIVE! — The New Class on Twitch, the Marvel star stated that a season 2 will not happen as Disney is not interested in continuing the series. She said (via Deadline),
“I don’t think so. I think we blew our budget, and Disney was like, ‘No thanks,’”
She-Hulk: Attorney at Law‘s cancellation does not mean that the character will not appear in future Marvel projects. Maslany may return as the character, most possibly in the two upcoming Avengers films. It remains to be seen how the character is integrated with the other storylines that are going on in the Multiverse saga.
She-Hulk: Attorney at Law is currently streaming on Disney+.
