She-Hulk: Attorney at Law director Kat Coiro commented on the criticism launched at the show's visual effects, labeling the entire situation a lose-lose scenario.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Coiro was asked at the series' Television Critics Association press tour panel about what she thought of the negative response to the CGI Hulk form of main character Jennifer Walters (Tatiana Maslany). The director revealed she feels a majority of the criticism stems from the way society views women. "In terms of the CGI being critiqued, I think that has to do with our culture's belief in its ownership of women's bodies," Coiro said. "I think a lot of the critique comes from feeling like they're able to tear apart the CGI woman. There's a lot of talk about her body type, and we based it on Olympian athletes and not bodybuilders. But I think if we had gone the other way, we would be facing the same critique. I think it's very hard to win when you make women's bodies."
Audience reaction over the show's perceived poor CGI comes at a time when VFX artists have lodged accusations against Marvel Studios about their debilitating workload and long work hours, causing their movies and shows to have subpar visual effects. During the panel, She-Hulk: Attorney at Law head writer Jessica Gao affirmed that the series' cast and crew supports the tireless work of VFX teams.
"This is a massive undertaking to have a show where the main character is CG," she said "It's terrible that a lot of artists feel rushed and feel that the workload is too massive. I think everybody on this panel stands in solidarity with all workers." Coiro then reiterated their endorsement of the series' VFX staff. "We work with them, but we're not behind the scenes on these long nights and days. If they're feeling pressure, we stand with them and we listen to them," Coiro said.
Based on the show's official synopsis, She-Hulk: Attorney at Law revolves around Jennifer Walters, a 30-something lawyer who represents clients in cases relating to superheroes. Her world soon turns upside-down, however, when she is cross-contaminated with the blood of her cousin, Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo) aka the Incredible Hulk. Suddenly acquiring the power to turn into a superpowered hulk herself, Jennifer must navigate a new normal as she wrestles with the expectation to be a hero.
She-Hulk: Attorney at Law will premiere Aug. 18 on Disney+ and run for a total of nine episodes.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter