She-Hulk's Showrunner Says This Has Been The Most Surprising Part Of The Show So Far
With the release of "She-Hulk: Attorney at Law," Jennifer Walters (Tatiana Maslany) is now officially a part of the rapidly growing Marvel Cinematic Universe. Along with her character, a new host of talent on the screen and behind it comes with her. A notable addition to the team is Jessica Gao, the production's showrunner. For those who might be unfamiliar with the term, whoever holds the title is essentially the creative lead. Others still write and design and perform and whatever else, but it's all siphoned through the showrunner's vision. Showrunners still have to answer to the studio, but otherwise, they're in charge.
While "She-Hulk: Attorney at Law" is Gao's first project with Marvel, it was not her first attempt to join the creative team. She's spoken of at least two other MCU properties for which she pitched her ideas — but this was the time, it was the perfect fit. Recently, Gao opened up about her first experience in the hero business and how it was different from what she anticipated.
Marvel never stops tweaking its work
In an interview with Collider, showrunner Jessica Gao opened up about how surprised she was at the near-constant level of work that went into every frame of the finalized footage. She said, "there's nothing that can prepare you for working with Marvel Studios, so every new element is surprising. One of the most surprising things is just how much goes into every second of it. Even up to the premiere, I was still working on the show. That, to me, is probably the most surprising thing. They really will keep working on things and keep tweaking things, until the very end."
In short, according to Gao, Marvel's artistic process is one of thoroughness — potentially excessive thoroughness, but thoroughness nonetheless. That's a great deal of work to ensure intentionality. That being said, ever read a comment and immediately know what the Social Discourse™ surrounding it will be? Here's a friendly reminder to all of our readers across the world: it is both possible for a project to be dutifully designed and for it to not appease everyone's sensibilities in equal measure. There are simpler, more blunt ways to say that very thing but, hey, the point's been made.
What's best about this quote is that, in the context of the complete interview, it's clear that Gao is not only a Marvel fan, but a She-Hulk fan, as well. They could not have found a better person to put in those long hours to create a product that best showed off who Jennifer Walters could really be if given a chance to shine.