She-Hulk Star Tatiana Maslany Denounces "Strong Female Lead" Label

By Liam Crowley

The Marvel Cinematic Universe returns to the small screen this week. Following in the footsteps of fellow freshmen Marc Spector and Kamala Khan, Disney+ is home to another rookie's debut: Jennifer Walters. She-Hulk: Attorney at Law will introduce the next iteration of the famous giant green monster in the form of Bruce Banner's (Mark Ruffalo) cousin. Played by Tatiana Maslany, Walters is a lawyer who receives an emergency blood transfusion from Banner, consequently causing her to transform into her own Hulk. While she possesses the strength and stature of Banner's Hulk, this She-Hulk retains her witty personality, operating akin to the Smart Hulk fans were introduced to in Avengers: Endgame.

Maslany comes to bat after Iman Vellani hit a home run with Ms. Marvel, the MCU's highest-rated project to date. As female leads within comic book projects become more frequent, Maslany hopes that her fellow heroines will be seen as not a big deal.

"I'm really interested in when these [marginalised] voices get to speak without it being like: 'Oh my God, it's all women,' or, 'Oh my God, this is a story about a queer couple,' and those stories become as innately expected as they are now special," Maslany told The Guardian. "Because it's reductive. It's just as much a shaving off of all the nuances, and just as much of a trope. It's a box that nobody fits into. Even the phrase is frustrating. It's as if we're supposed to be grateful that we get to be that."

The Orphan Black star continued by revealing she was drawn to the She-Hulk script due to its feminine nature, emphasizing that it feels like a fresh tone for the MCU.

"I do think there's been this paradigm shift. It takes time and it's about finding new ways to tell stories. What made me go: 'Oh OK, this feels fresh and surprising,' is that it feels deeply – if I can use a binary term – feminine," Maslany continued. "There's a girliness to it. That word is often used as a derisive term, but to me there's a celebration of female friendship in She-Hulk that's really fun."

Maslany will showcase that feminine flavor across nine episodes, beginning on this Thursday, August 18th, when She-Hulk: Attorney at Law premieres exclusively on Disney+.

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