After lending her directorial touch to the popular new Disney Plus showShe-Hulk: Attorney at Law, prolific director Anu Valia has expressed surprise at the unexpected amount of leeway she was given while working on the project. She discussed this pleasant surprise and many more interesting things about her time on the project.
Loosely based on the eponymous Marvel character,She-Hulk: Attorney at Lawcenters on Jennifer Walters, an ordinary lawyer who suddenly finds herself with incredible powers after being involved in a car accident with her cousin Bruce Banner, the alter ego of the immensely powerful Hulk. The show chronicles her life as she handles the repercussions of occasionally living as a 6’7 green-skinned juggernaut while dealing with her new job heading the superhuman law division of Goodman, Lieber, Kurtzberg & Holliway.She-Hulkhighlights the humorhidden in the rudiments of superhuman living.
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In an informative interview withThe Hollywood Reporter, Valia revealed that the project had been a learning experience for her, saying, “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.” She was also surprised by how much freedom and intermingling of ideas actually happened behind the scenes at Disney. “I learned so much from the actors. It was such a collaborative, creative experience, which is maybe something I didn’t realize going in," she said. “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.”
Valia was also questioned about other behind-the-scenes facets of the highly popular show, which was created and written by Jessica Gao, with writing credits on episodes also going to Melissa Hunter, Dana Schwartz, Kara Brown, Francesca Gailes, Zeb Wells, Cody Ziglar, and Jacqueline J. Gailes. However, she declined to answer some questions, unwilling to spoil the enjoyment of future reveals. Instead, she encouraged viewers to keep tuning in, as indicators show they do despitesome initial review bombing ofShe-Hulk.
Tatiana Maslany’s portrayal of the titular character, despite the actress being hesitant to take on the part, has been a resounding success, with the show taking up a lot more space in public discourse than initially expected. While the first four episodes were well received, Valia’s work directing the fifth episode has already caused a stir, with it seemingly paying a carefree tribute to sitcoms of the past that play well with the comic book character’s satirical roots.
While Valia is undoubtedly a remarkable talent, there is some debate over whether her morecomedic take on She-Hulkis a step forward or backward for the show. This approach is unique within the MCU, which has asserted unquestionable dominance by sticking rather close to a tried and true formula. Change, despite being inevitable, is just as inevitably resisted. Whether the last remaining holdouts will be swayed remains to be seen.
