The trials and tribulations of the much criticized Disney Plus show continues as it seems that any hopes of the series coming back for a second season is unlikely. This is a shame because in the comics, She-Hulk is one of the best characters in the MCU. Plenty of the comic have found complex and intriguing way to explore Jennifer Walters within the world of superheroes. So it was quite baffling when the series failed to recapture that magic.
Still, the problem isn’t that She-Hulk didn’t have enough material to come a season. Hell, if the writers actually properly adapted the series then they could’ve gotten multiple season out of her character. The issues lie with Bob Chapek and Kevin Feige overstuffing Disney Plus with rushed content that would ultimately harm the Marvel brand. She-Hulk didn’t need to be a television series as her character would’ve been better served on the big screen.
The Budget For She-Hulk Was Perfect For A Feature Film
The reported budget for She-Hulk was $225 million. That’s an astronomical amount for a television series. However, doing a superhero show isn’t cheap. Even with such a huge budget, it the CGI was still noticeable throughout parts of the show. $225 million would be insane for a feature film as well, but money could’ve allowed the series to dive deeper into the lore of Marvel. One of the more disappointing aspects of Attorney at Law is that it doesn’t particularly expand the scope of the MCU.
Since the series wanted to focus on her human character more, the feature would’ve allowed the writers to narrow down Jen’s struggle to balance work and heroism together. It would’ve been better if her character was more accepting of the superhero lifestyle, while understanding how it has a massive impact on her career as a lawyer. There’s a compelling premise with tackling both sides, but the key isn’t just focusing on one side, it’s doing a balancing act on both.
The huge budget would’ve allowed for huge battles and Jen and The Hulk possibly teaming up. Plus, it would’ve also allowed her to interact some of the more established names in the MCU. Of course, it wasn’t particularly the budget that fans were up in arms about.
A Feature Film Would’ve Made For A Tighter and More Compelling Script
The writing was the biggest issue in She-Hulk. Never mind the sub-par CGI, the series had plenty of directions to after the inciting incident, but opted against it. It would’ve been great for Jen to struggle with her newly formed powers but she was immediately a pro. In fact, she was already better than The Hulk! That story arc alone could’ve carried throughout the entire season. It would’ve been great for her to balance her work and superhero life, but Jessica Gao didn’t seem to interested in that.
We got a series with meandering plot and forgettable stories that didn’t really connect until the final few episodes. I genuinely feel that the sit-com aspect was a hinderance to the overall series. The writers focused on that and it’s politics so much that they forgot that She-Hulk needed a compelling story arc that would challenge her morals and develop her character. Stripped all of the unnecessary plot points would’ve forced the writers to focus on a central through line of a feature, and give She-Hulk the classic hero’s journey that would resulted in a welcome addition to the Marvel canon.
A Feature Film Would’ve Tied To The Marvel Universe Better
To be fair, Marvel has been rather directionless since the end of Phase Three. Granted, the brand finally found a central plot line in Ant-Man & The Wasp: Quantumania, but there’s still been some struggle in connecting the dots. Another one of the biggest issues in the MCU is that we still have no who the Avengers for this phase are. It was clear as day who the Avengers were during the first three phases, but Marvel has introduced so many characters that it’s quite confusing now.
As previous mentioned, it’s clear that She-Hulk is in the confines of the MCU due to the cameos and some story connections outside of the show. But Jennifer hasn’t dealt with the multiverse saga. Had she interacted with someone like Doctor Strange or even Spider-Man then it would’ve been easier to tied her to the larger events of the MCU. I know that her character wasn’t particularly portrayed well in the series, but She-Hulk is genuinely a compelling figure who can add something valuable to the Avengers team if done right. She-Hulk should’ve been a feature film. With a better set of writers of course.
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