In case you were somehow still unaware, Marvel’s Disney Plus shows are in trouble. Although it was a battle that needed to be fought, the Hollywood strikes have sent the studio’s upcoming streaming slate tumbling like dominoes, with the likes of Ironheart now not due to arrive until late 2025. But that’s far from the only issue the MCU’s small-screen outings have to contend with, as Marvel is in the midst of seriously reconceiving how it makes these shows, with an unlikely hero rising up as the perfect template.
With Daredevil: Born Again being sent back to the drawing board to be retooled from scratch, Marvel’s approach to creating TV shows up to now is being thoroughly rethought. As exemplified by Secret Invasion, the studio’s stranglehold on creative control has led to some considerable clashes between the studio and its writers and directors. On all shows, it seems, except She-Hulk: Attorney at Law which, despite its reputation as the most divisive Disney Plus product of them all, is now being seen as the ultimate how-to guide.
As revealed by The Hollywood Reporter, She-Hulk was virtually the only MCU Disney Plus show to date to have a single creative head shepherding the project at the beginning and end of the process. The show was very much the baby of head writer Jessica Gao, and though there was some to-and-fro with director Kat Coiro during filming, Gao got to resume the reins in post-production, thanks to COVID limiting the number of eyes on the series.
The result was a final product that, whether you’re a fan of it or not, had a distinct authorial flair and a clear creative vision. As such, Marvel is looking to recreate the sole showrunner model on other TV productions moving forward as She-Hulk proved to the studio “that it would be helpful for its shows to have a creative throughline from start to finish.” Unlike Secret Invasion, which passed through multiple hands across its lifespan.
She-Hulk as the surprise savior of the MCU on the small screen? Only K.E.V.I.N. the robot saw that coming.
