Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige wasn’t initially on board with casting one Incredible Hulk star.
She-Hulk delivered some major casting inclusions from across the MCU by featuring Tim Roth’s Abomination, Benedict Wong’s Wong, and Charlie Cox’s Daredevil across its nine episodes.
Roth’s return as Abomination was a particularly surprising inclusion, as this was only his second MCU entry since 2008, and the first since his short appearance in 2021’s Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.
Kevin Feige's Resistance to Casting Hulk Star Tim Roth
As reported in the official MCU: The Reign of Marvel Studios book, Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige initially resisted casting Tim Roth as Emil Blonsky/the Abomination in 2008’s The Incredible Hulk.
Director Louis Leterrier supported Roth’s casting, feeling that casting a character actor could help avoid seeing the film becoming a campy self-parody as a comic-book story.
However, Feige wasn’t fully on board with the casting as he wanted a bigger name to be put into that position as The Incredible Hulk’s main villain. However, Leterrier and Roth persuaded Feige to make the call as Roth embodied the MCU’s second main villain after Jeff Bridges’ Iron Monger in Iron Man.
Feige even thanked Roth for convincing him to make the move, with Roth comparing his experience on that film to that of “an independent movie:”
“I liken the Abomination thing to an independent movie. It was a very big-budget independent movie.”
When Will She-Hulk & Abomination Return?
As of writing, there are no official plans for a second season of She-Hulk, which would almost certainly bring Jennifer Walters and Emil Blonsky back into the spotlight.
For Blonsky, many are hoping that he’ll be part of the antagonistic team starring in 2024’s Thunderbolts, although he may wind up left on the sidelines for that outing.
In She-Hulk’s case, Tatiana Maslany is being hyped up for the cast of 2026’s Avengers: The Kang Dynasty, but it’s unclear if she’ll return before then.
But with rumors pointing to a potential solo Hulk movie finally being on the way, that could be a golden opportunity for both to return.
She-Hulk: Attorney at Law is currently streaming on Disney+.
