She-Hulk: Attorney at Law featured the triumphant return of Mark Ruffalo's Smart Hulk, revealing more details about his adventures after the events of Avengers: Endgame. The MCU's Green Goliath had a major role in the premiere of Tatiana Maslany-led Disney+ series, helping his cousin to navigate his powers.
Warning - The rest of this article contains spoilers for She-Hulk Episode 2.
However, during the second episode, Hulk's exciting future has been teased after he travels to Sakaar. The character's brief conversation with Jennifer Walters was a memorable moment during the installment due to the fact that it referenced Edward Norton's recasting as well.
Now, an interesting detail about that iconic scene has been revealed by the show's director.
Major Secret in Hulk's Episode 2 Scene Revealed
She-Hulk director Kat Coiro sat down with Marvel to talk about the show's second episode.
During the interview, Coiro revealed the reason why the writers included Hulk's scene of heading into space in the installment, saying that it was intended to make "people's jaw drop and tune into the next episode:"
"The point of that [scene] was always to have people’s jaw drop and tune into the next episode.”
The Marvel director also shared that Mark Ruffalo's scene on the spaceship was the "first scene" that he filmed for the series. Coiro unveiled that the MCU veteran filmed the scene wearing his mo-cap suit at a "little fold-up table on a fold-out chair," confirming that it was 100% CGI:
"Bruce in the ship was actually the first scene Ruffalo filmed for the series. That’s where you really feel the weirdness of creating a CGI world because it was Mark in the suit at a little fold-up table on a fold-out chair without even a proper camera shooting him. But he’s so engaged and he knows the drill and he made the scene alive even in that circumstance, in a big box with fluorescent lights.”
She-Hulk head writer Jessica Gao chimed in, telling fans that Hulk's next off-world adventure will not be explained in the series, teasing that they've only ever seen “a little sliver of what he was up to” last time Bruce was in space.
“We don’t explain it, because it’s She-Hulk's show.”
Meanwhile, Coiro expanded on Ruffalo's mindset while working on the Disney+ series, saying that he "approaches everything as if it's the first time:"
"The amazing thing about Mark is that he approaches everything with fresh eyes. He really came in with such a deferential attitude and looking to us. And we all were like, but you’re Mark Ruffalo and you know this character inside and out. I think it’s what makes him the legend that he is, is that he approaches everything as if it’s the first time.”
Ruffalo also joined the conversation, explaining the complexities behind doing motion capture for his Hulk role:
“I’ve been doing the motion capture for so long and it can be so alienating. It’s its own sort of machine, that technology and I think it could be very easy to forget that there’s an actor performing there. That was probably my biggest contribution to the production was my experience of actually working with motion capture all these years and being able to try to show how you really can be alive and free within this technology.”
Ruffalo recalled his advice to Tatiana Maslany about filming scenes with a mo-cap, telling the She-Hulk actress that she should not "let the technology sort of stand in the way" of her performance:
“[I told her,] make sure that you are free to perform and don’t let the technology sort of stand in the way of that. It can go as far out as you can imagine it going. I mean, that’s the great thing about technology is it just it gives freedom to your imagination…just making sure that she knew that she could ask her what she needed and she could take the time she wanted. She could be as free as she could possibly feel like being.”
Why Mark Ruffalo's Mo-Cap Expertise Will Benefit Future Projects
It's quite remarkable that Hulk's major scene in Episode 2 was 100% CGI. At this stage, it's safe to say that Mark Ruffalo is already an expert when it comes to handling the mo-cap performance of the Hulk, and it's fitting that he gave compelling advice to MCU newcomer Tatiana Maslany.
Maslany's portrayal of She-Hulk has already received high praise from fans and critics, and Ruffalo's advice could further propel her performance even more.
Based on Kat Coiro's comments, She-Hulk's crew also managed to benefit from Ruffalo's expertise in both his mo-cap performance and his understanding of the character. The actor's extensive knowledge in both aspects could prove useful in future projects.
The confirmation that She-Hulk will not address what happens next to Hulk could also serve as a subtle tease that the character's past in Sakaar will be explored in Phase 5, potentially in a solo Hulk project down the line.
She-Hulk: Attorney at Law's first two episodes are now streaming on Disney+.
