Did you hear about She-Hulk? Y’know, the show about the cousin of The Hulk? She’s a weird character, and she’s being primed for her own series on Disney+. I have a lot of theories about how she’d fit into The MCU, but that’s for another day. For now, I’d like to focus on the backlash surrounding the potential casting of Alison Brie as the titular heroine. Because you can’t have a female lead without there being backlash…
The gist is that Jennifer Walters, or She-Hulk, was suggested for Alison Brie. This makes sense: Alison Brie’s, supposedly, a huge nerd, and she has the warmth and charisma for a leading role. She’s also due for her action break, like Brie Larson with Carol Danvers/Captain Marvel. And even if Brie isn’t super tall or buff, she’d be altered via CGI anyway. So yes, go for it!
Unfortunately, that’s not good enough for some fans. The complaints are ludicrous, but they centre around that last point: that she’s not big or buff enough. Considering that Mark Ruffalo isn’t macho himself, yet still pulled off The Hulk, this raises questions: you know that Ruffalo was also altered with CGI, right? The Hulk’s made of polygons. Even his mo-cap actor isn’t ridiculously buff, and Lou Ferrigno’s a body builder!
While we’re at it, why does it matter that Brie isn’t super-buff? It’s fiction! She-Hulk isn’t real! There’s no way this character could exist even if you wanted her to, so why are fans getting angry? We don’t even know if Brie will be cast anyway, right?
It’s bizarre what the demarcation line is for some members of the Marvel fandom: a skinny kid from Brooklyn becomes genetically-enhanced with steroids and is immortal? Totally believable. A scientist survives deadly radiation and becomes a giant monster when he’s angry? Cool beans. An anthropomorphic raccoon is best friends with a sentient tree that can only say three words? Totally! But give The Hulk’s cousin to a female actress with the chops to pull it off and the same treatment as him, and suddenly it’s not feasible?!
I was unaware that women had to jump hurdles over their male counterparts. Oh wait, I did. And it isn’t enough! It doesn’t matter how good your actress is, if she isn’t playing the subservient sex bot, then she isn’t worth your time. And if she decides to have a little more limelight, then suddenly she’s Satan coming to “steal everything with her SJW nonsense”.
But Alison Brie hasn’t taken up the offer yet, so…who knows?
In more shocking news, Bob Iger, the CEO of Disney since 2005, announced he was stepping down and leaving his job to Bob Chapek. Considering Iger has been CEO for roughly 15 years, this is a big deal. It’s an even bigger deal if you consider how Disney was functioning in 2005 and how it’s functioning now. Because a lot has changed since then. How so?
Well, Iger helped broker a deal that allowed Pixar to operate independently under Disney in 2006, a deal that’s worked well for both companies. He also gave John Lasseter creative oversight over Disney’s general animation division, which has benefitted the studio greatly. His tenure saw the purchase of Marvel in 2009, Lucasfilm in 2012 and, most-recently, 20th Century Fox in 2017. Even if you don’t like many of the decisions Disney’s made under his leadership-his handling of The Muppets has been pretty disappointing-there’s no denying the financial boom Iger’s allowed as CEO. Simply put, he’s got a tough legacy to follow.
Which begs the question: why did Iger choose now? I know he extended his stay at The House of Mouse for a few years in 2016, back when he was originally going to step down, but this seems like an unusual time to bow out. Maybe he was scared? Perhaps there’s a scandal we don’t know about? Or maybe it’s health-related?
Either way, Bob Chapek has the unusual position of continuing where Disney’s own Steve Jobs left the company. It’s tough to say if he’ll coast on his predecessor’s success, or if he’ll chart a new direction, but I time will tell!
Speaking of, there was that rumoured Lizzie McQuire continuation that got scrapped for Disney+. Why? Because according to the show-runner, Terri Minsky, there was a conflict of interest between her vision and Disney. Minsky wanted a more adult-oriented continuation, while Disney wanted to do what’d worked before. Minsky left the project, and it was abandoned.
This is tough because I can understand why Disney was hesitant to go through with this; after all, it’s Disney! These kinds of risks “hurt their brand”. This was the same company that fired James Gunn over his history with offensive Tweets. This was also the same company that let Roseanne Barr go after she wrote a racist Tweet about a former Obama official. Disney has a family-friendly reputation, and making an adult drama would shatter that.
At the same time, I sympathize with Minsky too. As a creative person myself, one of my biggest fears is compromising my artistic vision for the sake of a brand. It’s hard enough pitching an idea to a higher-up, let-alone having it green-lit. So to get your idea approved, only to be scrapped because the higher-ups changed their minds, well…it’s frustrating and heartbreaking. And while it’s true that saying “no” can be equally as important as saying “yes” sometimes, executive meddling usually isn’t a good sign.
So what now? Like Hillary Duff suggested, why not move it to Hulu? Disney owns a significant share in the site, and Hulu generally leans toward adult-oriented content. If Disney can get away with mature films under their Touchstone Pictures label, which they’ve been doing since the 80’s, then why can’t they use Hulu for shows? It’d definitely be a smart use of their investment, and it’d also make everyone happy.
But I guess only time will tell, right?
That about does it for the revival of Junk Drawer. Thanks for sticking around, and I’ll see you next time!
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