Brace yourselves, comics fans, becauseShe-Hulk is finally smashing her way into the MCU.
Created byStan LeeandJohn Buscema,She-Hulk – also known as Jennifer Walters – made her debut in “Savage She-Hulk” #1 in 1980 as the cousin of Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffaloin the Marvel Cinematic Universe). An attorney, Walters gained her Hulk-like powers after being critically wounded by men working for crime boss Nicholas Trask, who had previously crossed paths with her Los Angeles County Sheriff father. Bruce, who was visiting Jennifer at the time, wound up giving her a transfusion of his own blood in order to save her life.
The gamma radiation in Bruce’s blood, combined with Jennifer’s anger when Trask’s men showed up at the hospital to finish the job, transformed Jennifer. Similar to Bruce, Jennifer’s skin turned green, her body added muscle, and she grew much taller and broader than her original size. However, unlike her “always angry” cousin, Jennifer quickly learned to control her transformation without having to succumb to rage.
In the comics, Jennifer is smart, savvy, and witty, with a biting sense of humor and a Deadpool-like tendency to break the fourth wall. Her powers when she’s in her She-Hulk form are similar to her cousin’s, including superstrength, superspeed, and superhealing, but she differs from Bruce – or at least, the pre-Avengers: EndgameBruce – in that she is able to fully maintain her intelligence and personality while in her She-Hulk state. Ultimately, Jennifer became so comfortable as She-Hulk that she even practiced law while big and green, and has been employed by both the District Attorney’s office and the private sector since gaining her powers.
With the announcement that aShe-Hulkshow will eventually join Marvel’s Disney+ lineup with a standalone TV series, the search for the perfect Jennifer is likely already underway. Considering that MCU mastermindKevin Feige has already told usthat the characters introduced in the Disney+ shows will both influence and appear in the MCU films, we expect Marvel to aim high in their casting for She-Hulk, picking a Jennifer capable of lighting up both the big and small screens with a radiant green hue.
Here are eleven actresses we think would do a fabulous job stepping into She-Hulk’s white and purple leotard – although now that we think about it, we wouldn’t mind if they amended the costume a bit.
Betty Gilpin
Let’s just get one thing out of the way first: the actress who plays She-Hulk does not actually have to be tall, muscular, or Amazonian in any way. While for years, fan-casts of She-Hulk have assumed that whoever lands the role of Jennifer Walters would also have to portray her in her transformed state, that’s likely not going to be the case in the MCU, where Mark Ruffalo has been playing the Hulk in a motion-capture suit since 2012. The same will likely be true of the actress who plays She-Hulk, which means that when it comes to body type, nearly anything goes. So when it comes to selecting actresses who could best bring Jennifer to life, I won’t be considering height, musculature, or any other physical characteristics; that’s what movie magic is for.
That said,Betty Gilpinwould have no trouble embodying every aspect of Jennifer, including the green version. As one of the stars of Netflix’s glitter-filled ‘80s wrestling seriesGLOW, Gilpin has exemplified every trait she’d need to play Jennifer, and done so with big-haired, bedazzled panache. Not only has she shown that she can play funny, smart, and one of the most cutthroat people in any given room, but she’s also mastered the grandiose physicality necessary to command the wrestling ring. Sure, she probably wouldn’t get much chance to use her extensive repertoire of armbars and body slams inShe-Hulk, even if shedidget to play Jennifer in her green state, but one can always hope.
Kerry Washington
Although in the comics, both Jennifer and her cousin Bruce are white, it would be easy enough for theShe-Hulkseries to tweak the role so that an actress of any race could take on the part, opening up the playing field for a number of amazing actresses of color. After starring for seven scintillating seasons on ABC’sScandal,Kerry Washingtonmay as well have already auditioned for the part of Jennifer Walters. Washington’s character Olivia Pope was not a practicing lawyer (although she used to be), but anyone who’s watched Pope decimate a roomful of D.C. political insiders with nothing but her words and her wits knows that Washington will have no trouble stepping into a courtroom inShe-Hulk, even if she has to trade in her gladiator power suits for vibrant green skin.
At 42, Washington is the oldest actress on this list, which may be the only strike against her when it comes to playing Walters, who is typically portrayed in the comics as being in her late 20s to mid 30s. However, Walters is also only supposed to be four years younger than Bruce, who is in his early 50s in the MCU, leaving quite a bit of wiggle room when it comes to how old Jennifer should be. And if it means we can get a powerhouse actress like Washington in the role, we’re willing to bend canon a bit.
Anne Hathaway
With Kevin Feige assuring us that the Disney+ shows and the MCU films will be “completely intertwined” and that characters and storylines will move fluidly between the shows and the films, we wouldn’t be surprised if Marvel swings for the fences in castingShe-Hulk, pulling in a Hollywood A-lister with the intent of eventually using her to headline a film of her own. Someone like, say,Anne Hathaway..
I know Hathaway can be a polarizing actor (although I couldn’t for the life of me tell you why; she’sgreat), but from where I sit, she checks every single box for Jennifer. She can play funny, smart, sardonic, meek, and tough, and could convincingly pull off every piece of Jennifer’s complex personality, both pre- and post-transformation. Plus, Hathaway is no stranger to superhero franchises, having previously starred as Selina Kyle (a.k.a. Catwoman, although her villainous alter-ego was never officially named) inThe Dark Knight Rises.
Priyanka Chopra Jonas
Over three seasons ofQuantico,Priyanka Chopra Jonasshowed that she can handle the adrenaline and high-stakes action of a Marvel show, along with the dramatic burden of leading a show. Although shetends to play it pretty straight most of the time, even when she’s in a comedy, I think films likeIsn’t It Romanticthat allow her to be stealthily funny hint that she’s got it in her to portray the lighter side of Jennifer’s personality. Plus, Chopra Jonas seems to have a soft spot for superhero stories, voicing Kamala Khan (who is also getting her own Disney+ show) in theMarvel Avengers Academyvideo game, andstarring in the upcoming superhero filmWe Can Be Heroes, from directorRobert Rodriguez.
Kristen Bell
Hear me out: it would be like if Veronica Mars actuallyusedthat law degree she worked so hard to get, and also got superpowers.
Kristen Bellis probably not the first person anyone thinks of when they hear the word “superhero” (although shedidhave that recurring gig onHeroes…), but that’s where the beauty of CGI comes in. Personality wise, Bell seems like she was born to deliver Jennifer Walters’ legal smackdowns and fourth-wall-breaking quips, and withThe Good Placeabout to enter its final season and no word yet on whether we have moreVeronica Marsin our future, it’s about time that she landed a new series, because Kristen Bell shouldalwayshave a home on our TV screens. And while no, she definitely couldn’t play Walters in her transformed state, that would just make the contrast between the diminutive Bell and the towering She-Hulk even more impressive and enjoyable to watch.
Kylie Bunbury
Have you watched the short-lived but oh-so-good baseball drama seriesPitch? You should, if for no other reason than it’s an excellent showcase of the talents ofKylie Bunbury, who dazzled in the lead role of Ginny Baker. WhilePitchonly lasted a single season, it showed that Bunbury is more than capable of leading a series, in a role that allowed her to be in turns funny, tough, vulnerable, and angry. At 30 years old, Bunbury is the youngest actor on this list, which puts her at the perfect point in her career to join the MCU for the long haul.
The only strike against her is that Bunbury is currently set to appear as a series regular in USA’s upcoming seriesBrave New World, based on the novel byAldous Huxley, which may make it difficult for her to commit to yet another series. However, we’re probably still at least a couple years out fromShe-Hulk,and a lot could happen in that amount of time to woo Bunbury away from USA and over to Disney+.
Blake Lively
To play a hero known for breaking the fourth wall, who better than the wife of thatotherMarvel superhero known for the same thing?Ryan Reynoldshas been playing the foul-mouthed hero Deadpool since his solo film in 2016 (well, technically sinceX-Men Origins: Wolverinein 2009, but we don’t like to talk about that), who routinely looks into the camera and addresses the audience about the wacky and violent goings-on around him. While Wade Wilson waits impatiently in the wings to make his grand entrance into the MCU (Reynolds hasmade it clearthat he’s primed and ready to go), it feels like an extremely Deadpool-y twist for his real-life wife to beat him to the punch, playing a different hero known for the same gimmick.
But really, Reynolds is beside the point, because the reason that Marvel should hireBlake Livelyto play Jennifer Walters has absolutely nothing to do with who she’s married to. Giving Deadpool something to complain about would just be a fun additional perk. The real reason to cast Blake Lively is simply because she’s awesome, and would make an amazing Jennifer. After watching her sharp-tongued, velvet-smooth performance inA Simple Favor,it’s easy to picture Lively punching through a car, dominating a courtroom, delivering a zippy one-liner straight into the camera, or chilling out over beers with friends – all would seem equally natural for her.
Rosario Dawson
It’s still a little unclear what, if anything, Disney plans to do with Netflix’s Marvel series.Rosario Dawsonplayed nurse Claire Temple across multiple Netflix shows, includingDaredevil,Iron Fist,andLuke Cage. Now that all three have been cancelled, we’re unsure if that means that Dawson isstillClaire in the MCU, or if all the characters who appeared in the Netflix shows have been effectively scrapped.Mahershala Ali’s casting as Blade seems to give us a clue – Ali played Cottonmouth for seven episodes ofLuke Cage– but as significant as his Netflix role was, it didn’t come close to Claire, who appeared in more than four times Ali’s number of episodes.
Still, if Marvelisdeciding that the Netflix series basically never happened, that leaves the door open to bring some of the major actors from those shows back into the MCU in different roles, and Dawson would be an ideal candidate. Not only would she have no trouble embodying Jennifer’s toughness, intelligence, and biting sense of humor, but we already know she’d look great in green, thanks tofanartdone by the artistBossLogic. Dawson, for her part, seemed game, reposting the image with the caption “I’d work out…” Ball’s in your court, Marvel.
Olivia Wilde
Olivia Wildehas been having a great year off-screen, receiving praise for her feature directorial debutBooksmart, and hasalready landedher next directing gig, an untitled holiday comedy for Universal Pictures. With all this success behind the camera, one could easily forget that Wilde is herself a star, and could be a great fit for Jennifer Walters. Wilde has had an eclectic acting career sprinkled with some television roles (including her acclaimed run onHouse), a few big budget blockbusters, and a whole lot of indies. Through it all, Wilde has shown off a wide range of abilities, and excels in roles where she can play quick-witted characters with a high degree of intelligence and an equal amount of spunk. If she can find time to work another TV series (and potentially some movies) in around her burgeoning directorial career, she’d be an exciting and interesting pick to bring Jennifer Walters to life.
Constance Wu
She-Hulkwould be a bit of a departure forConstance Wu, who is best known for her scene-stealing role as Jessica Huang on the ABC sitcomFresh Off the Boatand her endearing lead performance inCrazy Rich Asians, but there’s no doubt in my mind that she could handle the demands of the MCU. Wu has already established herself both as a leading lady and a comedic force to be reckoned with, and isn’t afraid to stretch herself creatively, as evidenced by her most recent turn in the stripper heist filmHustlersalongsideJennifer Lopez.
Wu has saidthat she was drawn toHustlersdue to its exploration of identity, prejudice, and loneliness, all themes she’d get to dig into even further inShe-Hulk. Playing Jessica Walters would also place another Asian actor front and center in the MCU, alongsideSimu Liu, who will be playing the lead in the upcoming filmShang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. Considering Wu’s passion for advancing Asian representation in Hollywood, casting her inShe-Hulkwould not only put Jennifer in the capable hands of a talented and versatile actress, but would be yet another step forward on the trail Wu has been working so hard to blaze.
