Why did Marvel lie to Jameela Jamil about the size of her role in ‘She-Hulk?’

It’s not every day that a person gets asked to audition for a supervillain role in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Marvel Studios’ unprecedented success and astronomical box office numbers have attracted some of Hollywood’s biggest names, most of whom have come clawing at the opportunity to be a part of the next big blockbuster. Well, not Jameela Jamil.

During a recent appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live, Jamil shared with guest host Nikki Glaser that she actually tried to wiggle her way out of playing Titania, She-Hulk’s arch-nemesis on Marvel’s latest small-screen offering, She-Hulk: Attorney at Law. “I did try and talk them out of giving me the job,” Jamil said. “I refused to audition for it for ages.”

Now, before you think her ungrateful, Jamil confirmed that the role, like most Marvel superhero roles, required a ton of physical training and preparation. While she’s an accomplished actress and comedian to be certain, her preference for cracking a joke or putting a Twitter hypocrite in their place didn’t exactly leave her brimming with excitement at the idea of chowing down endless amounts of healthy food (and the flatulence that comes with it) and learning various martial arts.

Titania’s debut appearance in the show’s first episode comes following Marvel’s “lie,” as Jamil puts it, which had her thinking that the part was just a cameo.

“They then lied to me and told me it was not an action role and I was just playing a cameo that had to poison people. So I was like, ‘Sick, I just need to get little abs on my thumb.’ And then I got to Atlanta and they were like, ‘Surprise, you’re a supervillain. You’ll be learning jujitsu, kung fu, parkour, and how to fight on a wire in the sky. And you’ll be living here for six months.'”

Jamil followed that up by saying, “It’s okay, because Titania’s my favorite character ever and I’m so happy and it’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”

As we said, it’s not every day a major studio begs, pleads, and lies just to get you onto a show. The 36-year-old English actress was clearly Marvel’s number-one choice for the role, and given Titania’s notorious reputation of butting heads with Jennifer Walters, we can surely expect to see more of her in the coming episodes of She-Hulk: Attorney at Law. Then again, if you asked Jamil who the real She-Hulk is, she wouldn’t say Walters.

You can catch new episodes of She-Hulk: Attorney at Law when they premiere every Thursday on Disney Plus.