Tatiana Maslany Cast As Marvel’s “She-Hulk”!

Canadian actress Tatiana Maslany has become the second member of Marvel’s growing Hulk family, as she has – according to Deadline – signed on to play Jennifer Walters (a.k.a. She-Hulk) in a highly-anticipated Disney+ series which will follow the fan favorite character on her journey to becoming the indomitable, bright green superheroine. Maslany, whose career highlights include prominent roles on BBC’s Orphan Black and HBO’s Perry Mason, is an unexpected but refreshing choice to play the character, whose casting has been a topic of debate in the Marvel fandom for months.

She-Hulk
theverge.com

Jennifer Walters, the heroine at the heart of the upcoming She-Hulk series, is a character with a lot of heart and humor, and the fancasts for her have primarily been actresses with a background in comedy, such as Alison Brie (who was rumored to be the type of actress Marvel was looking for), Aubrey Plaza and Stephanie Beatriz. My personal favorite fancast was always Aladdin’s Naomi Scott, but clearly that was just me. Anyway, the casting of Maslany might indicate that Marvel has something a little different in mind: Maslany isn’t a stranger to comedy, but her talents are definitely best showcased in her wide range of dramatic performances, from her role(s) on Orphan Black as Sarah Manning and over a dozen clones, to her recent appearance as Sister Alice McKeegan (based on the real life evangelist Aimee McPherson) on Perry Mason. Taking all that into consideration, I’m willing to make a guess that Marvel’s She-Hulk will be just as much a dramatic character as a comedic one, something that I’m relishing the chance to see. Jennifer Walters’ story lends itself to a dramatic telling.

For those unaware of She-Hulk’s origins (and those who mistakenly still think she’s just a Hulk rip-off without her own personality or backstory), here’s a little refresher on where she comes from: in the comics, she starts out as ordinary Jennifer Walters, the cousin of Bruce Banner (who, by then, is already the Hulk). After her father angers a homicidal crime lord, she gets caught in the crossfire and has to be rushed to the hospital, where Bruce Banner gives her an emergency blood transfusion to save her life. The gamma radiation in his blood transmits to her and gives her nearly identical powers, but with a few interesting differences: firstly, when she transforms into her She-Hulk persona, she retains her human intellect and emotions, allowing her greater control over her actions and ensuring she never turns quite as destructive as her cousin; secondly, she doesn’t become a monster…instead, she just turns big, muscular and green, with (typically) an iconic purple and white costume and a mane of 80’s curls that has her at the top of my list of best superhero hairdos. When she’s not fighting crime with her fists, she’s fighting it in the courtroom as a lawyer who represents both civilians (particularly minorities and members of marginalized communities) and superheroes. I have a feeling her backstory will be slightly updated to have her first take legal action against the crime lords, who will then later retaliate and intentionally try to kill her, prompting her into a bit of a crisis as she has to try and figure out whether to go after them as a superpowered vigilante or as a prosecutor backed by the justice system. There’s a lot of potential for drama there.

She-Hulk
usatoday.com

But, as in the comics, there’s also plenty of room for humor. I kind of doubt that the Marvel Cinematic Universe version of She-Hulk will ever directly break the fourth wall as she does in the comics, but that doesn’t mean she still can’t be every bit as funny and sassy as her comics counterpart. A lot of it will depend on surrounding her with a great supporting cast who can act as foils to her: there’s plenty of evidence to suggest that Mark Ruffalo’s Bruce Banner will appear (I mean, he probably has to for her origin story to work), most likely in his newest form as the cool, self-confident Professor Hulk, unless the series takes place prior to the events of Avengers: Endgame. There’s also rumors that a number of other Hulk and Hulk-related characters could show up, including Red Hulk, and maybe even Hulk’s former love interest, Betty Ross (hopefully, as rumored, with Liv Tyler reprising the role).

Kat Coiro, who will direct the She-Hulk pilot and several more episodes in the show, and Jessica Gao, who is the head writer of the series, both also come from the comedy genre and will likely keep things light-hearted (I mean, as much as possible when you’re dealing with a character whose powers literally derive from a nearly fatal shooting).

She-Hulk
nerdist.com

Since the question will eventually come up…no, I really don’t expect the 5′ 4″ Maslany to play She-Hulk in her actual Hulk form: in other words, while she’ll still do the voice and presumably motion-capture, I presume the She-Hulk persona will be realized through CGI. This is a little bit disappointing, especially since no one wants to see special-effects budget limitations possibly hinder how often She-Hulk will be onscreen, but it can’t be helped: Hulk was a fully CGI character too, and no one complained (up until Avengers: Endgame, and then everyone complained). And the Disney+ shows have big enough budgets that She-Hulk’s design should look pretty good, no matter what.

On the other hand, if Tatiana Maslany wants to try and convince me that she’s a towering green woman with the physique of a professional bodybuilder through sheer force of acting, I think I’d buy it. She’s that good an actress.

What do you think of the casting? Are you excited to see She-Hulk make her MCU debut on Disney+? Share your own thoughts, theories and opinions in the comments below!

“Avengers: Endgame” Predictions!

My most-anticipated movie of 2019 is just around the corner – literally, it comes out next week. I feel, therefore, that now is the time to make some predictions before we enter the endgame. Specifically about the very type of prediction that no one wants to talk discuss: namely – who’s gonna bite the dust?

Cheerful! Let’s get into it, shall we?

Tony Stark (Iron Man): High Chance of Death. Tony started this entire ten-year journey, and it would be fitting if Tony ended it by going out in an act of sacrifice, to prevent the horrible premonition he had in Avengers: Age of Ultron, the one where he saw all his friends lying dead around him, victims to some horrific massacre. Since The Avengers, Tony has known that it will be his fate to go up against an enemy of cosmic proportions, and that enemy has been revealed to be Thanos. Their first fight, in Avengers: Infinity Wars, didn’t go so well for Tony, and it kind of resulted in him being lost in space with no food, slowly running out of oxygen. Assuming he survives that, we’ll see him return in Endgame with new purpose and determination. However, it’s also worth noting that if Tony didn’t die, he could get married to Pepper (something that’s also been foreshadowed), and retire from the spotlight, passing on the torch to a new generation of Marvel heroes without having to die.

Steve Rogers (Captain America): High Chance of Death. The thing about Steve is that he’s basically been warning us since Captain America: The First Avenger that he is prepared to give his own life to save those he loves. And he’s made no secret of the fact that he wishes he could be with Peggy Carter, who died in Captain America: Civil War. Another possibility is that he might go back in time to the 1940s and live out the rest of his life then, though that would massively damage the existing timeline. It’s more likely he dies to bring back all those who were dusted in Infinity Wars, and there are already hints of that: his sidekicks, Bucky Barnes and Sam Wilson, will be getting their own Disney Plus streaming show soon, and actor Chris Evans has said multiple times now that he wants to move on from the MCU.

Nebula: Dead. No doubt about it, the murderous blue android will not make it out of the endgame alive. She will also, I believe, be the one to kill Thanos. Her entire character arc has been leading up to this confrontation (though, as with Tony, the first time around didn’t go so well), and she desperately wants to murder her genocide-obsessed father: you know, after he pitted her in cage-fights against her own sister, and replaced her body-parts with metal every time she lost. There has to be a reason she’s still here, and more notable Guardians of the Galaxy like Star-Lord or Drax are not. She’s going to kill Thanos, and she will die in so doing.

James Rhodes (War Machine): Dead. I don’t see Rhodey having much of a purpose in Phase 4 of the MCU, and I assume there’s a good reason they left him alive in Infinity Wars, so he could die in Endgame, valiantly. Hopefully he goes down in an appropriately epic way.

Bruce Banner (Hulk): Moderate Chance of Death. I think this one is a definite possibility. Bruce is a sweet, innocent guy who really doesn’t stand a chance against the Mad Titan if he can’t transform into Hulk. I’m expecting Endgame to deliver quite a few surprises, but I don’t think all of them will necessarily be good: if Thanos kills Bruce before the mild-mannered scientist can turn into Hulk, that will enrage us all – we’ll want Thanos to die. And the thing is: Bruce doesn’t have to be fully dead. We know Professor Hulk could be happening in Endgame: that being the combination of Bruce Banner and Hulk into one creature, a hybrid of Bruce’s intellect and personality with the Hulk’s body. What better way to make this happen then to have Bruce’s body be killed, but his mind is transferred into the Hulk as he dies? I’m sure they could find some pseudo-scientific cause for that. Besides, Professor Hulk will allow Mark Ruffalo to stay in the role as a voice-actor, so it’s not like we’d be losing him entirely.

Natasha Romanoff (Black Widow): Moderate Chance of Death. We know already that a Black Widow solo movie is in the works, so it shouldn’t seem likely that the rogue KGB agent will be meeting an untimely fate in Endgame, but it is worth noting that the Black Widow solo movie is rumored to be a prequel. What if Black Widow explores Nat’s past after she’s dead, as some sort of nostalgia trip for the audience? That would be weird. I’m not discounting the possibility that Black Widow will use Nat’s death in Endgame as some sort of framing device, but I’m gonna bet that she survives.

Clint Barton (Hawkeye): Low Chance of Death. I really should put him higher up on the list, but I don’t honestly think he will die, despite all the hints in the trailers that he’s some sort of bitter vigilante going up against Thanos to avenge his family (who, let’s face it, are almost definitely dusted). And the very reason I don’t think he’ll die is just that: his family. It would be way too cruel if his family were to come back to life only to find that Clint had died. Besides, the rumor is that he’s also getting a Disney Plus show, where he’ll be training the next Hawkeye, Kate Bishop – I think he’s safe.

Carol Danvers (Captain Marvel): Alive. She’s not gonna die. She just got her first solo film and it turned out to be a billion-dollar success…hmm, wait, why does that sound familiar? Oh yeah, that’s what we said about Black Panther before Infinity Wars, and look what happened to him. But, frankly, I don’t see the same fate awaiting Captain Marvel: she will have to come out of Endgame looking like the face of the MCU moving forward. Carol, in my opinion, will also stick around on earth for a while after Endgame, so we have a chance to get more accustomed to her.

Rocket Raccoon: Alive. Somebody’s got to stick around for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, am I right? At the moment, Rocket doesn’t even seem to have much of a purpose for still being alive, so I can’t really see a purpose for killing him.

Scott Lang (Ant-Man): Alive. He’ll live. He may not be getting a third solo film (or, at least, one hasn’t been announced), but he’ll live. He appears to be crucial to the Avengers’ entire plan, since the Quantum Realm, where he’s been trapped since Ant-Man and The Wasp, looks to be a major part of the story. I actually just rewatched that very film, and I must admit that I would be down for another Ant-Man film, if only for the incredibly fun action-sequences. So I hope he lives.

There are my predictions for who will die in Avengers: Endgame. Write your own thoughts in the comments: do you agree with my ratings?