‘She-Hulk’ Director Says Marvel Was More Nervous About Show’s ‘Gleeful Horniness’ Than Self-Parody (Video)

Thanks to She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, we now know two things for sure: Captain America fuuuuu–s and She-Hulk smashes (Matt Murdock). And while Kevin Feige might have been ready and willing to reveal the first of those things, She-Hulk’s sex life has been a little more taboo for Marvel. But according to the women involved, it would always grab the spotlight one way or another.

Marvel fans have long mourned the fact that while there is an entire universe full of adults, the MCU rarely, if ever, features these adults engaging in sexual relationships. Many were excited about the possibility of that changing with last year’s Eternals. But when Cersei and Ikaris’ moment came, it was very PG and very short-lived.

Now we have She-Hulk: Attorney at Law streaming in its entirety on Disney+. And in this series, Jennifer Walters doesn’t just have a sex life, she has an active sex life. And for series star Tatiana Maslany, it was one of the most exciting things about the character.

“I love it. I mean Jessica Gao and I and Ginger [Gonzaga], we’re all talking about how awesome this show is,” Maslany told TheWrap. “That’s what we love most about it, there’s a kind of happy horniness about it. You know, which just doesn’t feel like some kind of awesome superhero thing. And it really is, I don’t know. It’s like, giddy, it’s feminine, it’s about desire. It’s about whatever!”

According to head writer and executive producer Jessica Gao, Jen’s sex life was essential to exploring the character’s “full breadth.” As director Kat Coiro recalls, there were some discussions with the bosses about exactly how it would be portrayed. And in those conversations, Marvel was definitely a little nervous — even more so than the idea of ​​making themselves the butt of the finale’s joke.

“It was definitely a part of our conversations because you can’t write a story about a woman in her 30s navigating modern life without addressing sex,” Coiro told TheWrap. “And I think the media is oddly more prudish when it comes to women’s perspectives on sex. And, you know, we got Iron Man to do a lot of things, but then there were all these talks and there was a lot more fear for their sex life than making fun of Marvel. But we kept saying, that’s her story and that’s her truth and we’re going to deal with it in an easy way.”

In the end, the pieces snapped together when the She-Hulk team found out they’d gotten Charlie Cox’s, aka Daredevil’s, Matt Murdock to join the show.

“You know we wanted to show her that she was dating and then when we were told we could use Daredevil we immediately thought oh they gotta, we gotta get her – like, you put these two people together, they’re definitely going to do it,” Gao told TheWrap, laughing. “And it was just a wonderful bonus that they had this incredible, explosive chemistry. For example, if you look at that bar scene with them, you’re like, ‘Oh my God. These people need a room.’ And then they do it!”

In fact, at the end of Daredevil’s first appearance in Episode 8, he and Jen happily fall into bed together. And shaping that particular scene was important to Coiro, who sought to bring together the old and the new.

“I never wanted to take sex too far, but I also don’t want sex to be taboo, even for young people. And so it always found that balance,” Coiro said. “And I think the tongue-in-cheek element is really important. Like Jen and Daredevil [get together]I like ending it on this little pan over their costumes. This was sort of an homage to the rom-coms tropes of the 2000s, but also with something completely new, as it was batons and helmets instead of clothes. And it’s very suggestive, but it’s also accessible to all ages, which I like.”

The next morning, viewers learn from Jen that their encounter came to a “very satisfying end,” and in the finale she jokes even more about her desire for Daredevil. After Jen literally breaks the fourth wall and makes his way to Marvel Studios to complain to KEVIN about the ending of the finale, Jen also asks to see Daredevil again in the finale. Because “a woman has needs”.

When KEVIN berates her for skipping off her show and ruining the ending he plotted for her, she has no regrets — but she does have another sex joke. She explains that smashing is exactly what Hulks do; Bruce Banner smashes buildings and “I smash fourth walls and bad endings. And sometimes Matt Murdock.”

The joke quickly became a fan favorite and was one that Tatiana Maslany enjoyed as much.

“Right now, Jen owns so many pieces of her story and owns this continuous line of her story,” Maslany said. “So there’s something about her, so confident with everything that’s really awesome.”

In the video above, you can see the women of She-Hulk: Attorney at Law discussing the show’s sexuality.