She-Hulk Director Kat Coiro Wants To Bring More Comedy To The MCU

We're meeting yet-another super-strong, green superhero in the Marvel Cinematic Universe with the upcoming Disney+ series, "She-Hulk." Series director Kat Coiro talked (via The Wrap) about her excitement to bring more humor to the MCU, and how "She-Hulk" intends to bring in a certain sense of levity to the Marvel universe, as already glimpsed in the show's first look.

Since most of the shows set in Marvel's extended universe, such as "Loki" and "WandaVision," share direct continuity with films of the franchise, their overarching tone is more serious, given the weight of the events that occur (including the literal inception of the multiverse). "She-Hulk" will be introducing Jennifer Walters (Tatiana Maslany), a lawyer who specializes in superhuman-oriented legal cases while also occasionally transforming into a giant green superhero, much like Bruce Banner's alter ego, the Incredible Hulk. The role of Banner will be reprised by Mark Ruffalo, who is Jennifer's cousin and will play a key role in helping her understand and control her abilities.

While speaking to The Wrap about her upcoming film, "Marry Me" (which marks the return of Jennifer Lopez to the rom-com world), Coiro explained what exactly she intends to bring to the MCU via "She-Hulk":

"I never choose a project based on genre. And I actually don't think very much about genre, I think about character. And I think about the emotional lives of the characters and, you know, can I bring something? Can I bring a mix of humor and heart to this? Because that is what I love to watch. And it's what I love to work with. And so when I stepped into, you know, the Marvel playground — the cool thing about Marvel is that it is an ever-evolving universe and you have straight dramas, and you have very comedic films, and we are in that world where we're definitely playing with a more comedic world, but it also is still part of Marvel land."

This could very well be a winning formula for "She-Hulk," which could delve into an interesting character with a tongue-in-cheek approach while grounding character growth in realistic, emotional vignettes. When this sentiment bleeds into an ever-expanding universe with endless possibilities, the avenues for powerful character arcs widen, especially in the weaving of an intricate storyline. 

Coiro spoke more about the collaborative process behind "She-Hulk" in an interview with Collider, stating how she is already "a giant fan" of the "She-Hulk" comics:

"I'm a huge fan of the MCU, and I was actually a giant fan of the She-Hulk comics, so when I heard they were making it, I went full court press and really sold myself as the person to bring this story to life. It was a huge and involved process. Marvel is one of the most collaborative environments in the world. The process was really about getting on the same page and making sure that we were like-minded. It's never about anybody's ego. It's about bringing these stories to life. It was a long process, but those processes to get a job become very easy when you're really passionate about the material, which I was in the case of that one."

Prior to helming "She-Hulk," Coiro had been involved with popular shows such as "Modern Family," "Shameless," and "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia." Apart from Maslany and Ruffalo, "She-Hulk" stars returning MCU villain Tim Roth, Ginger Gonzaga, Renée Elise Goldsberry, Jameela Jamil, Anais Almonte, and Josh Segarra.

"She-Hulk" does not have an official release date as of yet, but is expected to premiere on Disney+ at some point in mid-2022.