It's a time of change for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. What started as a huge and expansive project in the Multiverse Saga has led to more, unexpected change, as Marvel Studios has had to consider which of its newer titles were worth investing in based on some negative fan response and poor showings on their respective platforms. This is Marvel we are talking about, so they are still in a very good place, but it has taken a number of blows that it hadn't before, leading to some creative decisions being made about its future.
The long-awaited Secret Invasion received an overwhelmingly negative response from just about anyone who watched it (even the most devoted of fans weren't happy about certain creative choices) and other projects that received something of a lukewarm response may or may not return for future outings.
The good news is that things are on the rise for the studio once again, because after the successes of Deadpool and Wolverine and Agatha All Along, Marvel is back on form and back in business. That said, a certain quiet shift regarding Marvel has raised some eyebrows, reminding them all of those reports of potential cancellations from just a few short months ago.
Marvel replaces She-Hulk with Deadpool in new Disney Plus banner
A new Disney Plus banner for the Marvel Studios subsection of the streaming service has completely removed the character of She-Hulk, replacing her with Deadpool. While this was obviously done in celebration of the release of Deadpool and Wolverine on the platform, it does raise suspicions and concerns about She-Hulk, and why she was the one chosen to be removed from the banner altogether.
The banner has been present for over a year, spotlighting heroes such as the Scarlet Witch Wanda Maximoff, Sam Wilson's Captain America, Shuri's Black Panther, and Yelena Belova's Black Widow, and all of those heroes remain on the new banner. In fact, calling it a new banner feels like a bit of a stretch as it's the exact same banner only with Deadpool in place of She-Hulk.
Check it out below:
Disney+ has replaced She-Hulk with #Deadpool on the official Marvel hub banner! pic.twitter.com/4q9OPxymTw
— MCU - The Direct (@MCU_Direct) November 19, 2024
This has understandably caught the attention of fans. Some of them have pointed out the fact that Wolverine did not get a spot on the banner despite co-headlining the MCU movie, which just arrived on the platform. Meanwhile, others have asked the question of why Marvel didn't just update the entire banner like they did last year in order to make She-Hulk's removal look, well, less obvious.
Something else worth pointing out is the fact that MCU heroes whose fates are "uncertain" are still very much present on the banner. The Scarlet Witch is "dead" in the MCU's timeline at the moment (although we know that will be reversed in the near-future) and Loki is now forever stranded at the center of the multiverse, keeping an eye on all the branched timelines so that they may live. Again, we know we will see these characters again at some point but Marvel wants us to believe they are gone, so it's interesting that they have remained on the banner while She-Hulk - a character who was just getting started in the MCU - has been removed after just one year on the banner.
All of this comes after months of reports that She-Hulk: Attorney At Law had been quietly cancelled by Marvel Studios. Though not confirmed, a number of reports claimed that the studio had decided to re-evaluate its miniseries, renewing some for second seasons while definitively cancelling others; all in the name of focusing on properties that they believe will be successful going forward.
She-Hulk had a lot to live up to because, in spite of being a sitcom, the show was extremely expensive (hey having a giant green Hulk at the center of it was always going to cost a lot of money) and fans didn't particularly respond well to the CGI. Star Tatiana Maslany also raised some questions about the show's future earlier this year when she suggested that a second season wouldn't be happening because they "blew budget and Disney was like 'no thanks'!"
There is hope that She-Hulk will return in the upcoming Avengers movies, but this unexpected removal of Jennifer Walters from the Disney Plus banner - which saw only the Jade Giantess removed - does appear to suggest that she won't be playing as big a role in the franchise going forward as initially hoped.