Literally, just a month ago, the internet was abuzz when news broke that Orphan Black’s Tatiana Masalany had been cast as the big, green lead in Disney+’s She-Hulk’s series. Masalany’s range alone was all it took to make the news sound plausible and considering the outlets delivering the news, it seemed legit. To everyone who believed the trades, Masalany has something to say.
During a recent interview with the Sudbury Star in which Masalany discussed being a juror on the panel awarding the Glenn Gould Prize and what sort of music she’s listening to these days (Sophie and Kendrick amongst others), the topic of She-Hulk came up. The actor was rather frank in her assertion that she’s not set to play Jennifer Walters, despite all evidence to the contrary.
[referenced id=”1464003″ url=”https://gizmodo.com.au/2020/09/tatiana-maslany-will-play-disneys-she-hulk/” thumb=”https://gizmodo.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/18/ot3bhxesm7w4x3dx1q0a-300×169.png” title=”Tatiana Maslany Will Play Disney+’s She-Hulk” excerpt=”Marvel Studios has found itself a suitable Attorney-at-Law. Who is also sometimes a big green rage monster.”]
“That actually isn’t a real thing and it’s like a press release that’s gotten out of hand,” Maslany said. “It’s totally not — I’ve been connected to these things in the past and press has gotten onto it, but it’s not actually a thing, unfortunately.”
Masalany’s statement was rather peculiar given that She-Hulk showrunner Jessica Gao seemed to confirm the casting back in September when she quote tweeted the original Deadline report. In addition, Mark Ruffalo took to his Twitter page to welcome Masalany into the family. When Gizmodo reached out to Disney this morning to suss this whole thing out, a representative said, “Unless it’s confirmed on Marvel.com it’s all just rumours.”
Of course, many times over trades have correctly reported on casting long before Disney announces the news officially. Occasionally, “sources familiar with the matter” will just have the information wrong, or speak too soon — before the ink is dried perhaps. At the same time, though, this could all be weird, Marvel-branded subterfuge rooted in the studio’s notorious secretiveness that’s meant to drum up excitement for its projects long before audiences actually see them.
What’s important to bear in mind here is that until Disney and Marvel come out with an official statement, nothing’s truly set in stone, and it’s in everyone’s best interests not to stress themselves out about who’s playing what character in a series that hasn’t even begun production yet. Though, to be fair, the Maslany casting was pretty cool.
We’ve also reached out to Maslany’s representatives for comment about this whole situation and will report back with anything illuminating if and when we hear back.