She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, which marks the final Disney+ MCU television series of Phase 4, is set to premiere on August 17. Based on the beloved comic book character Jennifer Walters, who happens to both be Bruce Banner's cousin and share Hulk-like abilities, the new show will be a cross between a half-hour law comedy and a superhero origin story.
Created by Rick and Morty writer Jessica Gao, She-Hulk: Attorney at Law centers on Jennifer Walters (Orphan Black's Tatiana Maslany), a lawyer whose superhuman legal cases become her daily life when she turns into She-Hulk. With the help of her cousin Bruce (Mark Ruffalo reprising his MCU role), she begins to gain control of her powers while juggling her personal life and day job. The series also stars Tim Roth as Abomination, Jameela Jamil as Titania, Ginger Gonzaga as Nikki, and Benedict Wong returning as his fan-favorite Doctor Strange character, Wong.
While at San Diego Comic-Con, Screen Rant spoke to several of the stars of She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, as well as creator Jessica Gao and directors Kat Coiro and Anu Valia. Watch the videos below and read selected quotes from the interviews!
Can you talk to me about the dynamic between Jennifer and Bruce, and how that's explored in the show?
Tatiana Maslany: They're cousins, obviously. Bruce basically tries to take Jen under his wing and teach her how to be a Hulk, and Jen's like, "Go away. Stop, I'm not going to be a superhero." There's an antagonistic thing they have. They love each other very much, and they're actually very close, but this is a bridge too far. She's not interested in this. It was really fun to play that dynamic with Mark.
Did your experience playing multiple characters in Orphan Black help you find the right balance between She-Hulk and Jennifer Walters?
Tatiana Maslany: Yeah. Obviously, Jen's consciousness stays the same when she becomes She-Hulk. She never loses sense of who she is. But she does occupy two completely different bodies, so that was really fun to me. I'm always curious about identity and perception and aesthetic and all of that. To get to explore that feels like a bit of an extension of Orphan Black, for sure.
Will Titania go through a transformation throughout the series, either physically or otherwise?
Jameela Jamil: No, because we're not telling the comic book version of Titania. Which I hope one day I get to do, because I also love that so much. Her backstory, I think, is one of the coolest in the whole of the MCU.
But we're telling a brand-new version of Titania, concocted in Jessica Gao's brain. It's very modern and fresh and silly and funny, but still with the through line of Titania's insecurity being at the core of all of her issues with She-Hulk.
There's so many villains that have been introduced in the MCU. How does Titania stand out?
Jameela Jamil: Titania stands out because I think she's the most annoying of them, actually. I think she almost doesn't need to use her strength; she could just annoy you to death. And I think that as a superpower that we haven't really utilized enough.
She's also very glamorous. I like the fact that she's a bit curvy, and I like the fact that she's completely unselfconscious. She's completely unselfconscious and so, so weird. We'll see.
How does Nikki react when Jennifer transforms?
Ginger Gonzaga: Nikki may or may not already be "inside" when it comes to that. I'm kind of encouraging her to do her thing. To Nikki, it's like a party trick that I already know about. And I'm like, "Why don't you go do the party trick?"
I really wish that I had a scene where Nikki was piggyback riding She-Hulk, because I just thought it'd be funny. But that's something Nikki would do; hitch a ride.
Can you talk to me about the dynamic between Jennifer and Bruce, and how that's explored in the show?
Jessica Gao: Jen and Bruce are cousins, of course. What's really, really great about them is that Tatiana and Mark had such great chemistry on set. They instantly clicked, and when you see them together, you're like, "Oh, they're cousins. They're cousins. They grew up together. They went to every family reunion together, and they know how to push each other's buttons. They've got pet names for each other; they know each other secrets."
It's really fun, and I really can't wait to for people to see their dynamic.
How has Jennifer been impacted by having an Avenger as a cousin?
Jessica Gao: That's one of the fun parts of the series. What's so unique to her is, first of all, it's already weird and extraordinary to be a superhero and to have superpowers - whether by a lab accident or mutation or whatever. But it's extra rare to have that happen twice in one family so that she has someone in her family who has already gone through all of it and that she can ask for advice.
Or maybe he might give her unwarranted advice that she didn't ask for, but she has this person that she trusts to lean on.
How do you balance the Ally McBeal lightheartedness with a character and superhero like She-Hulk?
Anu Valia: There's so much comedy to be mined. She Hulk is a lawyer, just trying to live her life. She's still got to clock into work every day. She also is trying to date. What does it feel like when you are just a regular gal, and then sometimes you're a six-foot-seven regular gal? And I think that naturally, there's a lot of balance there.
Sometimes it's very, very funny, and then sometimes that can be a little painful. I think that's just very true to the lives we live. I felt very close to Jen Walters throughout filming. We constantly talked about the balance, but I also think that was just naturally there in the writing and what the actors are bringing.
I've heard that one of the biggest influences on this show is something like Ally McBeal. Can you talk to me about the tone of the show?
Kat Coiro: It's always been about a balance between creating a new genre for Marvel, which is the half-hour legal comedy, but also feeling like it really fits into the MCU and feels big and cinematic and has action-packed moments. It was always about finding that balance.
How has Jennifer been impacted by having an Avenger for a cousin?
Kat Coiro: Jennifer's entire origin story is connected to her cousin, and She-Hulk would not exist without He-Hulk, as we like to call him.
She-Hulk: Attorney at Law Synopsis
She-Hulk: Attorney at Law follows Jennifer Walters as she navigates the complicated life of a single, 30-something attorney who also happens to be a green 6-foot-7-inch superpowered hulk.
Catch our other MCU interviews from San Diego Comic-Con, including ones with the cast of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.
She-Hulk: Attorney at Law premieres August 17 on Disney+.