See The All-New She-Hulk Redesign
Disney+ has decided to redesign the CGI She-Hulk character, after there had been a massive fan outcry for the way the character looked in the intital trailers.
We have a new look at She-Hulk, the newest member of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s roster of heroes, and fans are already divided about it. In case you’ve been spending your time in the DC Universe, since the release of the first trailer for the Disney+ She-Hulk series, several fans have criticized the look of the character, a mix of actress Tatiana Maslany’s (Orphan Black) physical performance and lots of CGI to make her green and nearly seven feet tall. Empire Magazine just published a new interview with Maslany and included a new image, which fans are now dissecting. Empire also tweeted out the new photo of Maslany from the show, featuring her dressed to the nines and turning heads.
She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, which premieres on Disney+ on August 17, follows Jennifer Walters, an attorney who just happens to be Bruce Banner’s (Mark Ruffalo) cousin. As seen in the trailer, Walters is instilled with the same gamma-based powers as Bruce, so she too can now turn green and grow when she gets mad or fearful. Jennifer isn’t exactly keen on being a large green superhero, but she’s left with no choice, especially after her path crosses with imprisoned supervillain Emil Blonsky (Tim Roth), also known as Abomination.
Since the release of the first images and trailer on May 18, fans have been vocal – and decidedly split – on the look of the character and the quality of the CGI. Most of the response from the fans has been decidedly negative, even as fans were excited that an actress of Maslany’s talent is playing the iconic superhero. Fans of the show Orphan Black certainly know about her range and ability to connect with audiences, and she also had impressive turns with roles in HBO’s Perry Mason reimagining and Destroyer with Nicole Kidman. Still, many were upset with what they felt was a sub-standard CGI render of Maslany to make her She-Hulk, comparing it to bad video game graphics, especially around her face (which is sort of important). It is certainly below the level of CGI we’ve seen with Ruffalo’s performance as The Hulk, and many are comparing the look of She-Hulk to Fiona from the Shrek movies. Marvel has even reportedly demanded changes to the character during production, to make her less muscular and smaller than The Hulk, apparently to retain some of Maslany’s femininity. To be fair, the new picture from Empire doesn’t give us a close-enough look at the character to see how much refinement has been done, but fans are unimpressed, nonetheless.
If Marvel can get the CGI right, to where it doesn’t distract from Maslany’s acting, they may just have a hit on their hands. The trailer for She-Hulk looks like a fun spin on the superhero mythos, as ComicBook.com pointed out. Maslany herself, in the Empire article, points out that Jennifer Walters is not like other Marvel heroes. “She really is the antithesis of most superhero narratives,” the actress said. “There’s this great element of denial in her that’s relatable. For me, it was about rejecting what’s happened for as long as I could, as that’s what causes the fun tension between Jennifer and She-Hulk.”
In addition to Maslany, Ruffalo, and Roth (who is reprising his Abomination character from the 2008 Incredible Hulk film), She-Hulk also stars Jameela Jamil as Titania and Benedict Wong reprising his Wong character from the Doctor Strange movies. The series features nine episodes, and according to IMDB, Ruffalo will appear in all nine episodes, indicating he has a larger role in the storyline than just a cameo. It could indicate that Marvel is working on introducing her to the larger storylines in the films, so she won’t be limited to television.
