Jessica Gao Interview: She-Hulk

The next MCU project, She-Hulk: Attorney At Law, is ready to show the world who Jen Walters (Tatiana Maslany) is in and out of her green skin. The series debuts on Disney+ August 18, and Screen Rant had the opportunity to talk to the wonderfully talented head writer and Executive Producer, Jessica Gao.

She-Hulk not only boasts an extended role for Jen’s cousin Bruce Banner, who has yet to have his own solo project since Mark Ruffalo took over the role in Avengers, but also a string of exciting MCU cameos. Beyond that, the series dives into what makes Jen tick in the courtroom and in a fight.

Related: Who Is Titania? She-Hulk Villain & Doctor Doom Connection Explained

Gao explained how the theme of identity and acceptance was the driving force of the show and shared insight into She-Hulk: Attorney At Low being the biggest connective tissue in Phase 4 of the MCU. The head writer also discussed whether or not she’s planned for more She-Hulk in the future and what should like to explore if there would be another season.

Screen Rant: Jen is forced to integrate the She-Hulk into her everyday life, including her professional life and dating life. How does that impact the way she perceives herself and how the world perceives her?

Jessica Gao: Great question. So much of the show is about her acceptance and there was a huge theme of identity in this show because she is in this very unique position where when she turns into the Hulk, unlike Bruce in the early days, she retains her consciousness.She’s still the same person mentally, but because she’s in a different physical body, she’s able to see in real time, the different ways that people treat her and the world perceives her.

Because so much of identity is not only how you think of yourself and what you put out into the world, but how the world receives you and what the world gives back to you. And so for her, she really can see very clearly like, “Oh, I’m being treated like this because I look like this and I’m being treated like this because I look like that.” And that does something to someone emotionally and psychologically that she has to grapple with.

I’m shocked by this, but She-Hulk has the biggest connective tissue out of anything in phase four that we’ve seen so far. How much of that is a challenge to you and how much of that was ever-changing because of the overall MCU story changing?

Jessica Gao: Going into it, we always knew that because the cinematic universe is so connected, everything we do is going to have to be connected to everything. But because of the format of the show, that it’s a half-hour legal comedy, it kind of naturally and organically lends itself to having a lot of guest stars because every episode there’s going to be a lawsuit of some kind.

You need people in those lawsuits and not just floating lawsuits, so you just naturally need to fill in the blanks of these people. And our starting point was always, that we would mine the movies and the comics for characters that we wanted to use. Then we would start thinking, “Well, what’s a very character-specific reason that person had legal problems or needed legal help?”

In the MCU, outside of the characters we see in season one, who could use Jen Walter’s legal assistance the most?

Jessica Gao: Oh boy. I mean nearly all of them because they’ve all done so much property damage. How are none of them in trouble?

When you started She-Hulk, did you envision this as a limited run and then eventually having the character graduate to the films, or is this something that you want to just keep on going? By the way, the series is fantastic.

Jessica Gao: Thank you. Thanks for buttering me up. I think because I come from writing for television where you can never, ever take for granted that you’re going to get another season. So coming into it, my mindset was always like, I have to just imagine there’s only one. Because I can’t think of more. I can’t leave stuff on the table. Because I’ve learned from working on TV for so long and cancellations and things not going that you might not get the chance to show the thing that you were saving.

I really wanted to make sure that in the first season we told a complete story. And to me, this first season is really, in its entirety, really her origin story. The pilot really shows her physical origin story, but the rest of the season is her emotional and interior origin story. But like any good TV writer, we got to leave the ending open for more possibilities.

Tatiana does a fantastic job at it. Can you talk to me about what Tatiana brought to the show that wasn’t necessarily on the page?

Jessica Gao: Oh, I mean, everything you see is what Tatiana brought to the show. Because on the page, these are just words.This could be any character. This could be anybody. But in Tatiana’s capable hands, it became a person right before your eyes, like magic. It’s like one of those little capsule sponges that you add water and then suddenly it turns into a dinosaur.

That’s really what it was watching her turn these words on the page into this real person. Because when you watch her on the screen, you’re like this is a human being who has lived a life, who has relationships. I believe that she has ups and downs. I believe she has good days and bad days. I believe she has an opinion on anything that I would bring up. You really felt like this was a flesh and blood, real person and not just a TV person.

Are there any elements from the comic series that you’d want to explore in season 2?

Jessica Gao: Oh boy, I mean so much stuff. So many different things, like there are so many more characters I would love to bring in, from her runs, but also from the rest of Marvel. I mean, everything. I just want more of everything. Everything you see in this first season, I want more.

Mark Ruffalo is fantastic. He’s been playing this character for the better part of 10 years. Can you talk to me about his approach to the character this time around and what surprised you about his performance as Bruce Banner and the Hulk?

Jessica Gao: Yeah. What was so great about Mark, other than that he’s just the greatest person ever, is that he really came just game for anything. He came ready to play and he was so open, especially for someone who has been playing this character for so long. He has such ownership of this character. He knows his character inside and out, and here we are like a guest in his character.

But he was so open about it. And he was just very respectful of our creative process, and he just wanted everything to be good and fun. And he wanted to make sure that everybody was happy. But when there were times when there were things that he felt could be additive, he let us know and it was just very collaborative and open.

I watched the pilot with my girlfriend, and she loved the bathroom scene. She said that was as accurate as you probably could get with a superhero scene in a women’s bathroom. Can you talk to me about just that real-world aspect of that female empowerment in the bathroom?

Jessica Gao: That scene is so important to me. I had to really go to bat for that scene because a lot of people didn’t understand why it was so important. Because if you look at it from the surface level, it’s kind of an extraneous scene. It doesn’t really serve a plot purpose. You could cut it and you would still understand what was happening in the story. But I was like, “This is the single most important scene in that entire episode to me.”

Because it really shows the magic and the protective warmth of the women’s bathroom. It is a beautiful and safe environment. I mean, outside at the bar, maybe these women would’ve fought each other. But for some reason, when you get past the magic barrier of the women’s bathroom door, it is the most protective and loving and supportive environment. A girl that you meet in the bathroom of a club will go and help you bury your dude if you need her to.

She-Hulk: Attorney at Law Synopsis

She-Hulk: Attorney at Law follows Jennifer Walters as she navigates the complicated life of a single, 30-something attorney who also happens to be a green 6-foot-7-inch superpowered hulk.

Catch our SDCC interviews with the cast of She-Hulk, as well as our recent interviews with stars Tatiana Maslany and Ginger Gonzaga.

She-Hulk: Attorney at Law premieres August 18 on Disney+.