A big day for Marvel’s B-list today, as the D23 expo has given the company a chance to announce a handful of new shows featuring some of its more beloved second stringers, all of them coming to upcoming streaming service Disney+. In addition to the Ms. Marvel series we reported on earlier today, Kevin Feige confirmed during a panel this afternoon that She-Hulk and Moon Knight are both also getting shows.
Of the two, She-Hulk is the obvious slam-dunk; for the uninitiated, Jennifer Walters is Bruce Banner’s cousin, who begins turning into a bigger, greener, and much-more-prone-to-comic-book-cheesecake-poses version of herself after a blood transfusion gone awry. She’s also always been one of Marvel’s most relentlessly fun characters, not just because she’s an upbeat, positive person, but because her best series have put a lot of emphasis on Jen’s career as a lawyer. (Unlike most of the Hulks, Shulkie doesn’t lose her intellect when she transforms, turning some of her best runs into a sort of “Ally McBeal, if Calista Flockhart was a giant green woman who could rip a firetruck in half with her bare hands.”)
Moon Knight is a tougher sell—and not just because he doesn’t have an obvious connection to a well-known character for audiences to latch on to. He’s kind of like a Marvel version of Batman, if Batman was a former mercenary with dissociative identity disorder and a magical connection to an Egyptian god, and sometimes he’s a cab driver, and also sometimes he kills people. (Phew.) Given Disney+’s hesitancy to tackle darker subject matter that might tarnish its family-friendly image, we can’t help but think a lot of that stuff is going to get scrubbed out. As is, the character’s most important trait is probably just that he’s one of the only “street-level” Marvel heroes who never popped up in Netflix’s Defenders universe of shows, and is thus free of any contractual obligations that might stop the service from doing a “badass vigilante beats up bad guys” sort of plot.
There’s no word yet on when either of these shows might see the light of day, but if this is the way we end up getting MCU versions of some of the franchise’s less “carry-a-blockbuster-movie-able” heroes, we’ll be pretty happy to take it.
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Obviously at they need to market the She-Hulk series by homaging this cover:
“Watch my show, or the X-Men never make it to the MCU!”
Inspired by the classic National Lampoon cover “If you don’t buy this magazine we’ll kill this dog” accompanied by a picture of someone pressing a revolver to a dog’s head.
That 4th wall breaking was fresh and original at the time. Now, I wonder if it isn’t going to come off as Deadpool-lite.
He’s kind of like a Marvel version of Batman, if Batman was a former mercenary with dissociative identity disorder and a magical connection to an Egyptian god, and sometimes he’s a cab driver, and also sometimes he kills people. And he’s also Jewish.
He also once uses a can of Schlitz to escape a death trap!
C’mon, who hasn’t used a can of Schlitz to escape a death trap? You must be living a far too sheltered life.
How soon until they do ROM: SpaceKnight or Jack of Hearts?
Holding out hopes for Micronaughts!
ROM is a Marvel/Hasbro co-creation, and somehow Hasbro wound up with the film rights for the character. They were supposedly developing a ROM movie as part of their Transformers/Micronauts/80’s Nostalgia Cinematic Universe
Hasbro has always had the rights to Rom. The character began as a toy and Parker Brothers (who then owned the rights) licensed it to Marvel to create a comic book to generate interest in the toy. The toy bombed, but the comic stuck around for almost a decade. Rom is now published by IDW, who licensed the rights from Hasbro a couple years ago.
Rom did not bomb at my house! In fact, he and Tobor had many great adventures together when I was supposed to be sleeping.
ROM is owned by Hasbro, though Marvel does own most his lore that they created. Hence why IDW had to come up with a new name for ROM’s homeworld.However, Rogue kissing ROM and absorbing his goodness is still canon.Also Black Bolt was married to a Dire Wraith Inhuman when he was going though his polygamy phase.
He also married a Kymellian (one of the horse like aliens who gave Power Pack their powers). He would have had an advantage in any custody battles though, because a foal and his mommy are soon parted.
You can tell she’s a goddess and not a god, because boobs.
Think another company owns ROM now.
This news makes me very happy. As a tall girl, I’ve always felt an affinity for Shulkie, and she inspired me to color my hair green for quite a long while.
Yeah but did you ever finish your law degree?
No her car kept breaking down.
As with any show, but particularly with She-Hulk, casting will be a real issue. We need a very charming, tall, large, muscular woman for this. I’m hoping that they go with a well selected unknown for this one instead of a professional wrestler. Does anyone have any casting ideas for She-Hulk?
Having just binged Mindhunter, Lauren Glazier seems to have the right physical presence. Mike Mayhew though definitely had Lauren Graham on his mind:
With the exception of Charlotte Flair and a few others, the women’s division in wrestling has actually gotten rather petite, so no worries there.
Anyway the studios don’t really care about criteria as much as we do (see: Scarlett Johansson, Krysten Ritter, Gal Gadot, and Brie Larson- nobody’s first choice for any of these superheroines) but eventually fans will come to see them as great, regardless.
That said, The Little Mermaid is proving Disney is open to thinking outside the box, and if I could be a little controversial, I’d like Kylie Bunbury (Pitch, Game Night) to flex her muscles for the series.
I appreciate your insight as I’m not up to date on everything and yeah, Kylie Bunbury looks great for the part (physically). I’ll have to check out her work. Thanks for the suggestion.
Lake Bell but she should be made larger digitally like Carrie Coon was for Infinity War. They also need to spend some $ b/c if they pull the “Jen Hulks out 3 minutes each episode” that isn’t going to cut it. Obviously they don’t need to make as weird looking as Proxima Midnight was but the half live half digital creation is the way to go. Whoever they go with needs comedy chops.
Alison Brie as Jennifer Walters, Betty Gilpin as She-Hulk. Done.
I was thinking about how Marvel Studios could get another headlining superheroine by genderswapping Moon Knight. The equally Jewish & ex-military Batwoman is evidence that it could
work. Then I realized a commando with dissociative identities sounds
like Iron Fist’s Dragon Hugger’s Mary Walker. I’m still waiting on closure for her!
Batwoman is her own character though. She was originally created in the 1950s as part of an effort to head off suspicions that Batman was gay. After the character fell into obscurity they revamped her several years ago, keeping pretty much nothing but the name.
That wouldn’t really be creating another female character though, just recycling one.And given most of the Netflix characters didn’t get closure, she’d probably fit better in a resurrected Defenders/Heroes for Hire show than a new project.
So pumped! Disney+ isn’t playing around!!!
*Looks nervously at Spider-Man*
Lmao!
It never occurred to me that the Netflix Marvel shows never reference Moon Knight. I just assumed I missed a name drop somewhere. Anyway, MK has always been in a weird grey area of being a street level hero, but also wrapped up in various supernatural stuff, occasionally teaming up with other heroes of varying power levels, and sometimes being a member of The Avengers. Once the DID aspect became an official part of the character (I believe it was a retcon 10-15 years after his introduction) it made him even more of a central point for general weirdness. Even if the show doesn’t make him a killer, I really hope they play up that weirdness angle. I’m imagining something similar to Legion where we can never be sure what is actually real, just with more cameos by existing Marvel characters for him to play off of. Heck, he could be the new focal point for recreating and/or reintroducing the characters from the Netflix shows. He could be their Tony Stark, at least by bankrolling everything, though I’m not sure how well he would be as a leader.
The MCU cinematic did reference him, however, in Winter Soldier. Sitwell’s ramblings included a mention of a TV anchor(IIRC) in Cairo. My understanding is that’s Moon Knight.
They worked a few breadcrumbs into Winter Soldier. iirc Dr. Strange was namedropped too.
I kinda hope if Moon Knight is a hit they justify making a Werewolf by Night show, because that was a wacky comic
I think he was sort of mentioned in Civil War or Winter Soldier though oddly enough.
That would be somewhat fitting. I wouldn’t be surprised if his name showed up when Hydra’s targeting system started coming online near the end of Winter Soldier.
Legion-level weirdness is really the only way a Moon Knight show could work and it sounds fucking fantastic
Although Marc Spector was briefly mentioned in an episode of the short lived Blade TV series. Remember? It was on Spike and it starred Sticky Fingaz?
I remember that it existed, though I don’t think I ever got a chance to watch it. I definitely didn’t know the show referenced other Marvel things. I just assumed it followed the movies by ignoring the rest of the Marvel universe. I might have to track down the show for streaming.
You know who could use a good lawyer right now? Peter Parker.
I’ve been hoping for Bruce to get a family discount on some legal representation since the first Avengers movie. In the aftermath of the invasion, there were people on the news asking questions about who would be responsible for damages, it looked like a setup for Avengers legal trouble. Having Jen way back then, or at least mentioned, would have been a nice setup for now.
Come on, Angie Harmon.
That video irritates me because its the exact wrong thing to bring up about She-Hulk. Sure she is an empowered woman with an active sex life but that isn’t what the character is about. Its almost as bad as when David Goyer said She-Hulk was just designed to be a character that the Hulk could fuck. First and foremost She-Hulks number 1 super power is being a kick ass lawyer.
Is he the one who did that alternate future where the Hulk and She-Hulk had all kinds of inbred murderous hillbilly children?
No that was Mark Miller, famous terrible Comic writer and goat licker
Thanks. So I guess there are a variety of writers out there desperate to see cousin-fucking in Marvel Comics. I’m sure they’ll get their wish soon enough.
Red Son and Old Man Logan were pretty good. Then again, Grant Morrison apparently ghost wrote some of Superman: Red Son so I’m imagining he did all the cool parts. The Authority is also awesome. And Ultimates was good for a while before Loeb ruined everything. And Jupiter’s Legacy was great (and is getting adapted!) So while Mark Millar has done some self-indulgent wankery I think calling him a terrible comic writer is a bit much. Like, I prefer Gaiman or Morrison or Jason Aaron but I think Millar has earned some esteem even if he isn’t quite as good as his fame suggests.
Millar wrote the best Superman stories of the 1990s… and not even in a mainstream title, but the kiddie series that tied into the Superman: Animated cartoon. He loved supers, and it showed.
But something horrible clearly happened to his brain, to the degree that former best bud and collaborator Morrison hates Millar’s guts. And Millar’s output (Wanted, The Unfunnies, and more) and attitude over the last 15-ish years are unmitigated trash.
Millar seemed like he got a lot more nasty over the years. Mean spirited maybe. I like some of his stuff in the time period you mentioned, last fifteen years, like his Ultimate Universe contributions and Jupiter’s Legacy/Circle, but things like “Nemesis” are just overly edge-lord junk. I do like Kingsmen, but the movies cut out a lot of his bad ideas and tidy the series up to a much more quality product.
Moon Knight is not the tougher sell, a lot of people have wanted to see him get a live action movie or show for quite some time now and it’s pretty easy to make casual fans invested in a street-level superhero (see CW-verse).She-Hulk should be great, but Ally McBeal but with a green superhero will definitely be the tougher sell to casual audiences. I’m excited for it as much as any other show though and I hope they get Mark Ruffalo to at least setup Jennifer a bit.
Plenty of people would be interested in another Daredevil, but maybe not so many would be pleased when they realize they unwittingly signed up for Legion.
Jennifer was never Ally McBeal.
Just referencing a comparison made in this article.
Oh I know. Sorry.
Is it safe to assume these shows are live action and not animated? I’m hoping for live action but with my expectations being lowered due to all the Spider-Man news, I wouldn’t be surprised if there was an update “by the way it’s animation…”
For She Hulk that could be better.
She-Hulk won’t be that easy of a sell. If they want to upgrade her to the movies at some point, her effects need to be incredible and look comparable to Banner’s. So they’re left with either doing a Jennifer that doesn’t like being the Hulk (which isn’t She Hulk at all) or the show’s gonna cost a bajillion dollars so a CGI lawyer can stand around in a live action courtroom.
Other options, I guess: She loses her power in the first episode and has to solve a bunch of cases to get it back. Every time she’s the Hulk she walks offscreen, a green light turns where she had been, and everyone else says “Wow look how Hulky she is!”
She-Hulk doesn’t *need* to be CG. Marvel just need to find a tall, muscular woman who can act. Makeup will do the rest. She-Hulk is big, but not inhumanly so.
I just hope they have the balls to cast Charlie Cox as an unnamed “counselor” to oppose her in a few cases. . .
She switches from 5’1 to 6’7 in the comics, and even if they do a green paint job it’ll still cost a crapload of money. Gamora’s a big green lady and Saldana was doing 5 hour daily makeup stints during her shoots.
You just hire two different actors.
Just get a six foot actress and have her stand on a box in her two-shots, sheesh.
You realize that movies have been tricking you about how tall people are practically since there have been movies right? It’s an effect so basic it’s barely even an effect.
I might regret mentioning the height a little, because it’s not about that. A TV show can’t afford the budget or time to do movie level full body makeup effects. All I’m saying is that the show is going to be filthy grade expensive, whether they do makeup or CG.
I know that her current changes are a recent development but the She Hulk in the comics right now is definitely Banner sized when she transforms. She wasn’t always like that, but now she is and Avengers is doing a pretty damn good storyline about her body image and how that’s changing etc. Also, she’s dating Thor so there is that.
Having Murdock and Nelson show up would be great. I love that idea.
She-Hulk is huge, not just tall, and there is no way they will ever hire a truly muscular woman, most of whom are too short, and finding one that can act is going to be near impossible. It will have to be CG.
I’ve been wanting She-Hulk in the movies forever, but I’m worried about a tv show. She has to be big and green all the time- I know there are versions where she changes or stays human, but that isn’t the She-Hulk anyone wants. Being CG the whole time doesn’t seem like something they would be willing to pull off in a tv series.She could be human for like 1.5-2 episodes before they are forced to hulk her, but once it happens, it should stay that way, or it isn’t She-Hulk.
She’s also always been one of Marvel’s most relentlessly fun characters, not just because she’s an upbeat, positive person, but because her best series have put a lot of emphasis on Jen’s career as a lawyer. (Unlike most of the Hulks, Shulkie doesn’t lose her intellect when she transforms, turning some of her best runs into a sort of “Ally McBeal, if Calista Flockhart was a giant green woman who could rip a firetruck in half with her bare hands.”)
Someone’s clearly not reading Jason Aaron’s run on Avengers, since he’s changed course 0n pretty much all of what was written here about shulkie.
If this is any indication it sounds like a shitpile that deserves to be ignored (and apparently Jason Aaron also decided to ignore that Bruce Banner was nearly raped, so having Jennifer tell him he doesn’t know what sexual assault is like is…a really gross and very typical of modern Marvel choice).
https://www.adventuresinpoortaste.com/2019/07/04/no-fun-discussing-she-hulk-in-avengers-20/
I really enjoy his run. And the exploration of body issues and sexualization of female superheroes etc.
Ayyyy, I have another reason to hate Jason Aaron!
I generally love Jason Aaron, but he’s missing the mark badly on She-Hulk. The super gross way he’s got Thor hooking up with her while she’s suddenly MENTALLY IMPAIRED instead of all of her friends showing any concern about her OBVIOUS MENTAL IMPAIRMENT is going to age about as well as Carol Danvers’ Avengers #200 storyline.
Do we know if these are going to be animated shows or live-action?
Fairly certain they will both be live action.
Comparing Jennifer Walters (funny, tough and strong, never defined by men) to Ally McBeal (rigidly defined by men and painted as completely incapable and self-loathing) may be one of the most heartbreaking comments I’ve seen on AV Club.
YIPPEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!SHE HULK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!*celebrates until dawn*
Wait. So what obvious character is he connected to? I’ve read all the Moon Knights from the beginning. The werewolf? There better be a werewolf.
She-Hulk was also doing the whole fourth wall breaking thing about a decade before Deadpool started doing it.
This great news and I really hope that Mark Ruffalo is in at least the pilot episode.What would equally good news was some sort of Nova announcement, but then that’s me being greedy.
Disney: Announces new shows with exciting charactersSony: Yeah, well, this time, we’re cutting Uncle Ben’s head off!
I guess with Moon Knight they might play up the mythology and Konshu stuff and use an expansion of that to cover up a lot of his darker or bloody tendencies. Like, having a torturous conversation with Konshu instead of torturing and cutting a dude’s face off (even though he deserved it).
With She Hulk I hope they incorporate some of her current storylines in Avengers like how she’s turning into more of a “hulking” figure and also is starting to lose her intellect upon transforming and it is affecting her body image etc. And how she was objectified by supervillains in the past back when she was just a super strong green lady with a model’s figure.
Marvel does Harvey Birdman: Attorney At Law
they’re gonna fuck up Moon Knight so bad i may have to watch it just for the cringe
On one hand I’m excited for these (although hopefully the shows do in fact allow for the characters to make it to the big screen as I’d hate to think some of my favorite characters would just spend all of their time popping up through a streaming service), but on the other hand I’m now basically blocked from getting a high quality Savage She-Hulk #1, which I’ve been semi-seriously toying with since last year when I went all I’M TOTALLY GONNA BUY SOME OLD STUFF NOW. Until this year’s comic price guide dropped it was only worth about $70 at a 9.2 or higher, but was raised by a good $40-$50 with the new guide info. And as of the show announcement, it’s apparently easily going for over $200 on eBay. And I could’ve had one for around $60 early this year and opted to wait a bit because I wasn’t sure I could afford that at the time (pretty sure I could’ve afforded it easily). About a week or two later, I go back to that particular shop and whoopsy someone bought it. Hesitation is not a fun thing.
Am I the only one who is worried about the quality of these shows? The Netflix shows got bad when they started adding a bunch of them. I feel like the same thing happened with the CW shows. It might just be too much too quickly. i know Marvel is upset about Spider-Man, but slow down