One of Marvel's upcoming Disney+ series for 2022 is She-Hulk, which stars Tatiana Maslany as Bruce Banner's cousin and lawyer, Jennifer Walters. This half-hour legal comedy will also feature Mark Ruffalo reprising his role as both Smart Hulk and Dr. Bruce Banner, as well as Tim Roth's Abomination and Jameela Jamil as the villainous Titania.
Marvel Studios has slowly been laying the groundwork for the series. In addition to Abomination's cameo in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Mark Ruffalo appeared as Banner in one of the film's post-credits scenes. Also, on Disney+ Day, Marvel revealed an exclusive first look at the upcoming series and Maslany in her debut MCU role.
However, while fans know what Ruffalo's Smart Hulk will look like in the series, Marvel has only shown fans glimpses of Maslany fully transformed. This has led to questions about whether her character will be CGI, makeup and prosthetics, or a bit of both. But now, months away from She-Hulk's Disney+, Maslany has an answer.
How Much CGI Is In She-Hulk's Disney+ Show?
When talking with the Scott Hasn't Seen podcast, She-Hulk's Tatiana Maslany not only addressed how she performed her role but also how her character of Jennifer Walters will appear on Disney+ when she goes green, admitting, "It's all CG:"
"It's all CG... I'm in mo-cap the whole time. I'm on platforms with mo-cap where I have a little head on the top of my head..."
The fact that her character is all CGI when transformed confirms that Marvel isn't mixing things up for this new series after all. In fact, they're keeping with how the studio has shot Ruffalo's Hulk through the years.
In addition, shooting with a "little head" on top of her head, and even on platforms and stilts, isn't just how Marvel filmed Ruffalo as Hulk and Smart Hulk, but also Josh Brolin as Thanos and even Abomination's cameo for Shang-Chi.
The additional height and head are used to establish a sightline for that performer's fellow actors, and they're also used to provide a point of reference for the film's animators.
Maslany went on to confirm that the She-Hulk Disney+ series drew inspiration from both Dan Slott's She-Hulk comic run from 2004 - 2007 and Charles Soule's from 2014-2015.
This is similar to how Marvel's Hawkeye series on Disney+ was inspired by Matt Fraction and David Aja's successful Hawkeye comics that began in 2012.
It's Not Easy Being She-Hulk Green
Even though many in the film community long for the days of practical effects and makeup and prosthetics over CGI, Marvel's decision to make Maslany's transformed Jennifer Walters computer-generated is probably the best choice for the show.
Having Maslany in green makeup and prosthetics on-screen alongside a CG Hulk or Abomination wouldn't be cohesive visually. In fact, it would only heighten the differences in design, no matter how impressive they respectively might be.
Also, Marvel's reliance on CGI hasn't dated its films or detracted from its overall quality in the same way that it has other films and franchises; and audience reception to Smart Hulk in Avengers: Endgame was largely positive.
In the meantime, fans are anxiously awaiting to see the reveal of Maslany's fully green Jennifer Walters now that they know she will be CGI, and how it compares to what the studio has done with Ruffalo in the past.
She-Hulk will arrive on Disney+ in 2022.
