Characters have come and gone in the Marvel Cinematic Universe since the franchise's opening movie. The film series (which would later expand to involve television shows, too) takes place in one of the biggest, richest, and most larger-than-life shared universes to ever grace any screen, so it isn't surprising that some characters pop in and out while others go for long periods of time before we see them again.
However, the Multiverse Saga took this to the extreme. Due to the expansion of the MCU across film and TV, the gap between appearances for characters was wider than ever. Moreover, there were a multitude of newer characters introduced who received some relatively divisive responses from audiences (or appeared in projects that didn't go down too well). Various rumors and reports have since claimed that those characters have had their returns "cancelled" while others believe it will just be some time until we see them again.
For one character who had a tough time of it after their MCU introduction, it appears that the latter could be correct after all.
Tatiana Maslany will reportedly appear in Avengers: Doomsday as She-Hulk
According to veteran Marvel insider Alex Perez, Tatiana Maslany will make her MCU return as Jennifer Walters, a.k.a. She-Hulk in Avengers: Doomsday next year. In chatting to fans via his monthly Q&A (via The Cosmic Circus), Perez answered a question about what other major additions we could expect to the cast (which already features 25+ major Marvel names), he added that well-known MCU heroes and Avengers are the likely candidates, naming Maslany's hero, alongside the likes of Tom Holland's Spider-Man, Benedict Cumberbatch's Doctor Strange, Charlize Theron's Clea, Teyonah Parris' Monica Rambeau, Mark Ruffalo's Bruce Banner, Hailee Steinfeld's Kate Bishop, Iman Vellani's Kamala Khan, Ryan Reynolds' Deadpool, and Hugh Jackman's Wolverine.
Needless to say, the reference to She-Hulk is a major one. Maslany has just one MCU appearance to her name thus far and it's a pretty high-profile one, as she starred in Disney Plus dramedy She-Hulk: Attorney At Law. The series received generally positive reviews, but there was some criticism pointed towards its questionable CGI in places and the lacklustre portrayal of the Hulk himself. As time has gone on, reception from audiences has been mixed, with many feeling it was one of the Multiverse Saga's most directionless entries, particularly due to any lack of a follow-up three years on.
Speaking of the lack of follow-up, the show was thought-to-be quietly cancelled afterwards. Although there was never any official confirmation, Maslany cast doubt on a second season ever happening last year, citing the show's huge budget as a potential reason for that. And considering the show was essentially a sitcom but with a super-sized budget, it likely needed to generate more buzz than it did.
Even though, there was a lot of charm in She-Hulk, which made any rumored cancellation all the more upsetting. But considering that Disney and Marvel Studios recalibrated how they planned to release content after a number of misses (which reportedly included moving away from any shows that were on the risky side of things and investing in turning some successful miniseries into long-term TV shows), the writing unfortunately seemed like it was on the wall for the show. The question was what it all meant for the character.
Although some earlier reports claimed that Marvel planned on moving away from the She-Hulk character (with one even claiming that she had "no future" in the franchise), a number of insiders have recently suggested that Jennifer Walters could make a comeback at some point. Avengers: Doomsday became a possibility when some leaked concept art for the movie (or a previous iteration of it at least) featured Maslany's Jade Giantess. But would Marvel really make it happen? Well, it seems like it might indeed still be on the table. And that's a very good thing.
She-Hulk deserved better from its initial run and that goes double for the titular character herself. With that in mind, it would be great to see her involved in either Avengers: Doomsday or Avengers: Secret Wars in some capacity. After all, if one of the purposes of these movies is to mark the conclusion of the Multiverse Saga by spotlighting some of the most important new additions it brought to the franchise, it goes without saying that She-Hulk should be among the stars.
Avengers: Doomsday arrives in movie theaters on December 18, 2026.
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