She-Hulk: Attorney at Law has had a rollercoaster run through its first five weeks on Disney+, with reports of changes and adjustments continually coming into the news stream. This started as early as the show's promotional run, with Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige fighting about what should've been included in trailers, although that's seemingly only the tip of the iceberg.
Other reports noted that some of the comedy was nixed in the writer's room for She-Hulk, with head writer Jessica Gao noting that some of the jokes were going a little bit too hard at the Marvel brand.
With four episodes still remaining until She-Hulk Season 1 comes to an end, fans will be curious to find out what kind of material was left on the cutting room floor during the development process. Now, thanks to one of the show's directors, some of that material has been revealed as She-Hulk approaches the second half of its debut Disney+ season.
She-Hulk Director on Cutting Multiple Characters' Scenes
Speaking with The Hollywood Reporter, She-Hulk: Attorney at Law director Anu Valia shared insight on her MCU directorial debut with Episode 5, what she learned, and what didn't quite make the final cut.
Valia started by praising Mallory Book actress Renée Elise Goldsberry's work, though the director admitted that a lot of her material "is actually on the cutting room floor," which she saw as a shame after the actress brought her best comedic efforts:
"She’s an incredible actor. So much of her stuff is actually on the cutting room floor, which is a shame because it’s a half-hour comedy; it can’t all make it in. But she’s so funny, and she’s just an all-star actor. I love her."
These weren't the only scenes cut from Episode 5 though, Valia revealed.
In a conversation with TVLine, the director talked about Ginger Gonzaga's Nikki and Josh Segarra's Pug taking a trip to the drip broker. Valia lauded the duo's "wonderful chemistry," though sadly much of it wasn't able to fit in the final episode:
“There’s a lot of stuff that’s on the cutting room floor, a lot of stuff didn’t make it in. They were very fun to work with.”
Again speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, Valia also looked back to when she saw some of what's behind the curtains at Marvel Studios, noting that they only tell her things on a need-to-know basis most of the time:
"Yeah, there’s a lot of different things to keep in mind. Once you get there, you get stuff downloaded to you, and then you learn what you need to know. But they don’t tell you what you don’t need to know. There’s a lot of smart minds there."
On top of that, Valia shared that this show is the first time she's ever worked with a leading character fully delivered through CGI. She also revealed how much freedom he had to do her work, even with how much people see Marvel as a giant machine:
"Yeah, you learn something on every job. This show took some time, and I learned so many technical things. This was the first time I’d ever worked with a full CGI character as the lead of a show. And just working on the show, I learned about balancing the tone. I also learned so much from the actors. It was such a collaborative, creative experience, which is maybe something I didn’t realize going in. You think of Marvel as this huge machine, but it’s really not. Kevin [Feige] cares so much, but there was more freedom than I really expected to have."
Will Fans See Deleted She-Hulk Scenes?
Renée Elise Goldsberry made her mark on Episode 5 of She-Hulk as she represented Jennifer Walters in her legal battle against Titania for the use of her own name. And as it turns out, even for the laughs she brought in her biggest appearance in the Disney+ show to date, fans missed out on some even funnier material that was left on the cutting room floor.
The same could be said for the fun pairing between Nikki and Pug, who both brought a refreshing spin to the fifth episode, so it is a shame that more of their ridiculous antics couldn't quite make it in.
With this series being nine episodes in length, longer than any live-action Disney+ entry yet except for WandaVision, fans will be curious to find out just how much funny material winds up being cut from She-Hulk. And as Jennifer Walters continues to develop her superhero style both as a lawyer and as She-Hulk, Goldsberry's Mallory Book should have more opportunities to add her own flair to that evolving journey.
The first five episodes of She-Hulk: Attorney at Law are now available to stream on Disney+.
