The MCU has seen more than its fair share of superstars joining in, despite the recent blips that it has suffered through. Of late, fans have been left continuously disappointed due to the quality of recent releases, which also includes the August 2022 release She-Hulk: Attorney at Law.
Tatiana Maslany in She-Hulk: Attorney at Law | Marvel Studios
A season 2 of the series looks highly unlikely, as it was accused of having completed Hulk’s transformation from a major Avengers star to a comic entity in the overall MCU. While it was Tatiana Maslany who ended up eventually getting the role, Mark Ruffalo himself, who also played a cameo in the series, had earmarked two other options who he thought could have been perfect for the role of She-Hulk.
That includes two major stars in the form of Zoe Saldana and Emma Stone, both of whom would have added some much-needed extra sheen to whatever She-Hulk had on offer.
Mark Ruffalo had earmarked the titular role in She-Hulk: Attorney at Law
It was way back in 2014, when Mark Ruffalo was asked during a Reddit AMA about his potential choices for the role of She-Hulk. Ruffalo’s own version of the Hulk was expected to eventually be given a solo movie, as his own character was introduced as one of the OG superheroes in 2012’s The Avengers.
Regardless, while there might be disdain as to what the MCU has done with the Hulk and related characters thus far, Ruffalo had some pretty big ideas about a potential She-Hulk casting. He claimed that Zoe Saldana, who was eventually cast as Gamora in Guardians of the Galaxy, might be perfect for the role, before naming Emma Stone:
Oh wow, that’s pretty crazy. Well, I think Zoe Saldaña would be a great She-Hulk. It’d be nice to see someone like her join the Avengers. Or someone quiet and demure like Emma Stone would be nice. But it would be up to the powers that be.
Of course, the suggestion came long before Saldana made it to the MCU, while Stone also has experience of working in a superhero movie via The Amazing Spider-Man series alongside Andrew Garfield.
Bruce Banner has seen his importance dwindle in the MCU project-after-project
The MCU has received its fair share of plaudits for a range of casting and narrative-based decisions with respect to major Avengers characters. However, its approach towards Hulk has been apathetic at best. Despite constant rumors about a solo narrative ever since Ruffalo’s character was introduced, his importance has only dwindled ever since.
Hulk, at best, has been a sidelined character in major narratives with little to no impact, despite the way he was introduced in the 2012 movie, chucking Tom Hiddleston’s Loki around like a random toy. He was seen repeatedly being used as a comic tool in projects ever since, and despite being a part of multiple movies, his importance did not necessarily increase.
Apart from being a comic tool and not playing a major role in the sagas ever since his debut, the way Hulk has been restricted has also been an obvious problem for fans. During the Thanos saga, the character simply refused to come out and fight, despite Banner’s pleading with him multiple times.
That, followed by the way in which Hulk was once again seen as a minor tool in She-Hulk, which in itself was a major failure, saw the conclusion of the transformation.
She-Hulk, along with the MCU’s other offerings, are currently available to be watched on Disney+.
