From the get-go, “She-Hulk” wasn’t dealt a fair hand of cards. Well into post-production, Gao has confirmed that Feige and other top-level Marvel executives insisted on a series of flashbacks to Jennifer gaining her super-powers and training with her cousin Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo) being bumped up from the fourth episode to the pilot, which necessitated additional reshoots. But even more than that, Gao and her creative team were reportedly forced to charge head-first into filming before their scripts were finished baking. By the time the show’s marketing was underway, its significant visual effects were still being finalized, which resulted in trailers and TV spots featuring some decidedly shaky She-Hulk CGI (most of which was better in the actual show, though it certainly would have benefitted from additional refinement).
However, as Maslany pointed out, the biggest issue from Disney and Marvel’s perspective was probably the price tag, with an episode of “She-Hulk” apparently costing as much as $25 million to produce (an astronomical number by TV standards and one that’s on the level with the later seasons of “Game of Thrones” and “Stranger Things”). Nevertheless, when you add all these factors together, it feels like the series was almost set up to underperform, so much so it’s kind of a miracle that season 1 was any good at all. If nothing else, it would be a shame if we never saw Jennifer Walters in the MCU again. If not in “She-Hulk” season 2, then she at least deserves a spot on the New Avengers roster that’s apparently being assembled.
“She-Hulk: Attorney at Law” is currently streaming on Disney+.