The stars and creators of Marvel’s She-Hulk: Attorney at Law got together for a virtual press conference to discuss the upcoming Disney+ original series. They talked a bit about breaking the fourth wall, their San Diego Comic-Con experience and more.
The panel included series stars Tatiana Maslany and Ginger Gonzaga as well as director Kat Coiro Director and head writer Jessica Gao.
Maslany, who plays the titular character, talked a bit about what makes this show fit into the MCU while still being different from previous projects.
“What’s so great about the show is that it has all those like, huge, Marvel elements to it like there are big set pieces,” Maslanay said. “However, we also deal with like She-Hulk, like, swipe dating and we deal with her helping her dad carry stuff into the garage. So it’s like those little sweet moments that made me really excited to do this show.”
The series star was also asked about how she was able to relate to She-Hulk herself.
“It was actually her conflict with it that I found most interesting. It was like her resistance to it and her kind of, like she’s built this life for herself that she does not want to let go of. She’s worked so hard to be a lawyer and she has to constantly prove herself,” Maslany said. “So she’s in this path and then when this thing happens to her, she has to contend with a whole other perception being placed on top of her and expectations socially of like how she should be and who she should be.”
She-Hulk isn’t the only Hulk in this series though. Maslany also touched on working with Mark Ruffalo for the show and shared a story about how she was blown away by some of the things he was able to do.
“Mark was just so open to whatever my process was coming to She-Hulk,” she said. “He never was prescriptive but one thing I did witness him do was like, he was laying down on the ground, he was laying down outside as Bruce and he gets up as Hulk. Like truly from a laying down position he’s suddenly standing.”
Coiro would later explain that it was a kip up that Ruffalo executed but went on to share that he says he can’t do it as Mark, but only when he is in the mindset of the Hulk.
With the whole group being new to the MCU, Maslany was asked about their recent experience at San Diego Comic-Con during the big Marvel panel.
“I think I blacked out,” Maslany laughed. “I do remember being like, I don't know, first off I remember the feeling that we all had which was like just buzzy, giggly, excited, you know just so thrilled that we got to do this. But then also just this very warm crowd, you know, who does really like, they know everything about this universe, way more than some of us do. But they were so welcoming and so, and also kind of like ‘let’s see what this is.’”
And speaking of San Diego Comic-Con, Coiro shared a quick thought on the reveal of the trailer that had the internet buzzing.
“It was nice not to keep Daredevil a secret anymore as well,” Coiro said. “That was a huge relief.”
Coiro discussed her love of the “She-Hulk” comics and wanting to bring that character to the screen.
“I remember very vividly being a little girl and seeing the cover of a She-Hulk comic amidst this sea of just male comics and not knowing who she was or what this was but knowing that I was moved by it,” Coiro said. “And the idea of being large and in charge and taking control, taking up space was something that really resonated with me.”
The MCU has spanned a lot of different type of projects, and Coiro talked a little bit about what genre she would consider this show to be.
“I would say that each episode really has a distinct flavor and we pulled from so many genres,” she said. “The easy answer is that it’s a half-hour legal comedy, but it also has huge cinematic scope and elements of drama, action, suspense.”
One of the big elements of She-Hulk that was brought from the comics to the screen was her fourth-wall breaks and both Coiro and Gao shared some thoughts on that inclusion.
“I like to say that she was doing it long before Deadpool or Fleabag,” Coiro said.
“It went through a lot of evolutionary steps, a long journey of like ‘how much should she talk to camera? Is she talking directly to the audience? Is there another meta element, is she talking to somebody else that’s more behind the scenes?’,” Gao continued. “At one point there was an iteration in the scripts where, instead of really talking to camera, there were kind of text boxes, like editors’ notes like the comic books, how there were editors’ notes in comics. And she was actually interacting with the editors’ notes that would be on screen.”
Gao was also asked about what makes Maslany the perfect actor to bring She-Hulk to life for this series.
“I was going to say nothing, she brings nothing to the table,” she joked. “No she, I mean, we talked alot about how important it was for this character to be human first and truly, from day one, the moment she stepped into this role, immediately, right before your eyes it was like ‘oh this is a person, like a second ago, this was just words on a page and now I’m seeing a real person who I believe has lived this entire life, has all these relationships and has all these feelings.’ And then on top of that, because I only knew her as a dramatic actress, and on top of that she’s super funny!”
Gonzaga, who plays Walters’ best friend Nikki, got the chance to tell us a little bit about exactly who her character is.
“I would hang out with Nikki in real life. Shamefully, I do feel like I’m kind of cheating on this show, I feel like Nikki is pretty similar to me,” Gonzaga laughed. “She’s very free. She’s that person you want, who can get away with everything and encourage you to do whatever.”
Gonzaga was also asked about the dynamic between Jen and Nikki in this show.
“I love, first of all, that they’re female friends who actually care about each other and love each other and have some sense of emotional maturity, you know, to their life,” Gonzaga said. “But also it’s a really good balance because Jen as Jen is, you know, she’s kind of by the book, she’s safe, she knows what she’s doing with her life, she has all these goals, and Nikki is just very reckless and free but in a fun way. I can kind of light fires and I can encourage Jen to become She-Hulk which is why if She-Hulk ever saves the world, you can actually thank her good friend Nikki. Behind every super hero there’s a catalyst best friend that encourages you to get in a lot of trouble.”
Finally, the whole group was asked what they want audiences to take away from this series after they see it on Disney+.
“I really hope that it’s entertaining and fun and escapist and then after you’ve watched it, you sit down and you go ‘gosh this made me think of some thing that I hadn’t thought of before’ and maybe you see things through a new lens,” Coiro said. “Because I think it’s a really fun and funny, ridiculous, awesome show that has some really deep undertones.”
“I’m curious what kind of conversations people will have about this show and with each other,” Maslany continued. “I think people can have a really visceral response to a woman super hero, which we’ve already felt online. And it’s interesting to me that there is such a visceral response. And I’m curious about the question around why. And I think all of the feelings that we have watching a show like this, whether it’s laughter or all of that, there is so much else going on that challenges people and that I think we really hit in a really wonderful way, near the end especially this season and I’m so excited for people to see that.”
For Gao, it’s the big picture she concerns herself with in relation to the entirety of Marvel and its fans.
“I hope that people who love Marvel will just see like ‘oh my god, this is a whole new area of Marvel that I now get to enjoy,’” Gao said. “And I hope that the people who didn’t feel like there was a place for them in the fandom of Marvel, that they didn’t get represent, that they didn’t really see themselves reflected, now feel like they get to finally see that.”
Marvel’s She-Hulk: Attorney at Law will debut Thursday, August 18 on Disney+