She-Hulk: Attorney at Law is the latest MCU epic to hit Disney+, and fans are gorging on it. In the series, Tatiana Maslany (Orphan Black) stars as Jennifer Walters, Mark Ruffalo’s Bruce Banner’s cousin, who becomes a Hulk of her own after a hematological mishap.
The sitcom has been in the making and taking shape for years “temptingly funny” costumed comedy and something completely new to Marvel Studios. And while fans have known for a while that the show would become what it eventually became, something has changed in recent months – the name!
The series used to be called simply She-Hulk, but when the main trailer was released just three months before the show’s debut, it received an official name change, subtitled Attorney at Law. Why was this exchange done so late in the process? Well, the lead author of the project just pulled back the curtain on the project.
Why the She-Hulk changes were made
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In an interview with Lifehacker Australia, She-Hulk: Attorney at Law lead writer Jessica Gao revealed why the Disney+ series was renamed ahead of release.
Regarding the addition of the Attorney at Law tag, Gao said it comes back to a line from Mark Ruffalo’s Bruce Banner where he says, “She-Hulk, attorney, that sounds nice.” The writer revealed that one day they were reviewing footage and when it came to that scene, Marvel Studios’ Kevin Feige said “that should be the title of the show” ultimately resulting in the change being made by Disney+ and Marvel Studios:
“We always had that line on the show where Bruce says, ‘She Hulk’s attorney, that has a nice ring to it.’ And one day we were looking at cuts and when it came to this scene Kevin just said, “That’s a great title for a show, that should be the title of the show”. And that’s it… You know, when Kevin Feige’s golden tongue speaks, it becomes canon and that’s really how it happened.”
On the subject of figs, Kat Coiro, director of She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, told Variety what it was like working with the Hollywood giant. She said is the flagship of Marvel Studios “very committed”, while still one “May the best idea win, let’s all do this together [experience]:”
“I think the most surprising thing for me was that it’s not an incredibly rigid world. It’s really a victory for the best idea, let’s all do this together.” [experience]. People always ask me, ‘Is Kevin [Feige] involved?’ Kevin is very committed. You’re always trying things, especially in the prep phase — try scenes and get them to preview and then you’re like, ‘You know what would be better? That would be better.” I think it’s a very unusual way of working. And in the end it’s really satisfying because you can try things out and play around with your colleagues.”
Coiro also addressed what influenced the show, with Ally Mcbeal being a big name to emerge. She told the outlet she was hoping after hearing Marvel was making She-Hulk “[it would have] an Ally McBeal vibe” including moments from “Breaking the fourth wall and really bringing that femininity into the courtroom:”
“No. I wasn’t exactly an ‘Ally McBeal’ fan, but I knew all about it when it came out because it broke with so many conventions. It played with the law firm genre and turned it on its head and did it a lot When I heard they were doing ‘She-Hulk’ – before I had a meeting, before I’d seen a scene from a script – I was like, “Oh, I hope it has an ‘Ally McBeal’ vibe to it.” That means breaking the fourth wall and really bringing that femininity into the courtroom. Reading it, I definitely felt like there was an “Ally McBeal” vibe. There are various accounts of how much Ally McBeal influenced the show. But for me, it was something that I went back and looked at after I started talking to Marvel about ‘She-Hulk’.”
What Kevin Feige says is true
Another example of why Kevin Feige is one of the best in the business. It’s funny looking back now. Sure, She-Hulk would have been a perfect title. It’s a show about She-Hulk, what more could you ask for?
But adding that attorney subtitle changes things. It exudes a certain personality that is present in the show. As Jen Walters says of Tatiana Maslany in the series premiere, this is a “right sight” after all. This is more of a court comedy that happens to be a superhero show than a superhero show that happens to be a court comedy.
It’s also quite funny to see that these decisions can be made so lightly. If Feige had accidentally missed that screening, the suggestion for the title change might never have surfaced and the change might never have been made.
But it was, and now She-Hulk: Attorney at Law is available to stream on Disney+.