Thor: Ragnarok gave Mark Ruffalo his biggest co-starring role to date, as he became the Grandmaster’s champion on the gladiator planet of Sakaar. Now, after supporting roles in the past two Avengers films and a cameo earlier in Phase 4, Ruffalo is back to play his biggest supporting part in Tatiana Maslany’s She-Hulk: Attorney at Law.
Bruce has gone through some major changes since his two-year stint in outer space, having learned how to unlock the Smart Hulk persona that’s been prevalent since Avengers: Endgame. He’s also largely remained on Earth over the past few years in the MCU timeline, setting him up to help his cousin Jen adjust to her own new journey as a superhero.
Ahead of the show’s August 18 debut, Marvel Studios has shared the first couple of full clips from She-Hulk, one of them showing the start of Jen’s origin story before she turns into a hulking monster for the first time. On top of that, the scene also laid out an exciting tease for a connection back to Bruce Banner’s past - one that could mean big things for his future.
She-Hulk's Ties to Thor: Ragnarok's Sakaar Plot
Marvel Studios, via IMDB, released the second full clip from Marvel Studios' She-Hulk: Attorney at Law.
Following a discussion about whether Steve Rogers was a virgin, Jennifer Walters and Bruce Banner encounter a massive spaceship that makes them crash off the side of the road, likely leading to Jen's first transformation into She-Hulk.
As pointed out by Twitter user @SheHulkSource, that ship looks incredibly similar to one that fans first saw in 2017's Thor: Ragnarok on Sakaar.
Looking even closer at the image, it looks to be the very same ship model as the one owned by Jeff Goldblum's Grandmaster, which was called the Commodore.
This was the ship that Tessa Thompson's Valkyrie helped Chris Hemsworth's Thor to steal from Sakaar, which was last seen attached to the ship carrying the remaining Asgardians that Thanos destroyed in the opening scene of Avengers: Infinity War.
The full clip can be watched below:
Will Ragnarok Come Back to Bite Hulk?
Outside of Bruce Banner's lasting relationship with Tessa Thompson's Valkyrie, his time on Sakaar from Thor: Ragnarok hasn't been too big of a plot point since it hit the big screen in 2017. Now, his time as the Grandmaster's champion seems to have come back in full force as one of the planet's ships finds its way to Earth.
The prevailing theory is that this ship belongs to the Hulk's long-lost son, Skaar, who The Direct revealed to be in play for a role at some point during She-Hulk's Disney+ run. While the ship will likely debut at some point during next week's first episode, this should be a lingering plot point as the Hulk and She-Hulk work their way through a changing world.
At the moment, there are no signs pointing to who's playing Skaar or what his inclusion could mean for the Hulk's overarching MCU story. But this ship alone amps up the anticipation, bringing some cosmic thrills to the MCU's latest street-level Disney+ epic.
She-Hulk: Attorney at Law will begin streaming on Disney+ on Thursday, August 18.
