She-Hulk: Attorney at Law drew mostly positive reviews from critics when it hit Disney+ in 2022. The series did suffer from inconsistent writing and visual effects, but as an introduction to Jennifer Walters, it did its job.
Of course, starring in a female-led comic book adaptation meant Tatiana Maslany had to deal with sexist backlash and review bombing. Talking to The Independent, the Orphan Black star opened up on that, making sure to choose her words carefully (lest she face even more unwarranted vitriol on social media).
"I think what’s exciting...exciting, ha. I think what’s fun about it is that [series creator] Jessica Gao built into the story that people were going to troll us," Maslany said. "When we started to get the same responses that [Gao] had actually baked into the writing, it felt like part of the fun."
There's still no word on whether She-Hulk: Attorney at Law will receive a second season (given the production costs, we're not banking on it). For a time, it looked like Jen might show up in Captain America: Brave New World, only for that to change as the movie started taking shape.
Also potentially not helping matters are comments made by Maslany about Disney CEO Bob Iger during last year's SAG-AFTRA strike. She made headlines for calling him "completely out of touch" after the executive described actors' demands as "unrealistic."
"In those moments, you’re so heated up. It’s hard to articulate yourself in a way that you want when you’re on the picket line with everybody," Maslany says, reflecting on those remarks.
Part of the reason for her frustrations boils down to what Olivia Colman has previously called the "respectful" process of being an up-and-coming actor and the grind involved with that. "You send these tapes into the void, you never get responses, you never get any feedback and you’re working!" the She-Hulk actress says. "You’re filming yourself and having to edit yourself, which is also the stuff that makes you so self-conscious."
As noted, a CG lead (and a long list of CG supporting characters) saw She-Hulk: Attorney at Law's budget balloon to upwards of $200 million; still, despite the expected backlash from a certain sect of fans, the expectation has been that the Jade Giantess will return...it just won't be in a second season.
Last year, Maslany was asked if season 2 of She-Hulk: Attorney at Law is happening. She responded, "I don't think so. I think we blew our budget, and Disney was like, 'No thanks.'"
Something tells us that probably hasn't changed...