She-Hulk Still Looks Extremely CGI In New MCU Show Image

A She-Hulk show image includes a new glimpse at the titular heroine, who still looks noticeably computer-generated. The upcoming Marvel Studios series will introduce Emmy-winner Tatiana Maslany as Jennifer Walters/She-Hulk, bringing the character into the MCU and portraying her in live-action for the first time. Officially titled She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, the show will premiere on Disney+ August 12.

While the announcement of the series generated a tremendous amount of excitement, the general feeling has grown far more skeptical in recent weeks. The first She-Hulk show trailer revealed special effects for the hulked-out character that struck many as unusually rough, causing trepidation over whether the TV project could match the impressive VFX for characters like Hulk and Thanos that fans have grown accustomed to in the feature films. While Disney+ has since released an improved version, and Marvel audiences are aware that CGI is worked on until the very last minute, prospective viewers are nervous about what the final product will look like.

Now, Empire shares a new She-Hulk: Attorney at Law image that won't exactly quell those fears. The frame depicts Maslany in She-Hulk form attending some formal event, wearing a sparkly, silver dress and looking noticeably taller than the humans surrounding her. While viewers got to see this outfit in a shot from the trailer, the character still looks very much like something added in during post-production. 

It is generally true that CGI elements are more noticeable in still images than in motion, so Marvel fans shouldn't really take this as a sign of the VFX team's progress. However, as the studio's marketing department must know, many will anyway, and it's somewhat surprising they would release something that wasn't 100% solid following the She-Hulk show trailer backlash. This is especially so considering they could focus more on Maslany's human Jennifer Walters, since the actor brings with her plenty of goodwill from her acclaimed performances as several clones throughout Orphan Black.

Also, while the She-Hulk CGI will continue to be the main story leading up to the show's premiere, there are other interesting elements that could be highlighted instead. The series will follow up on the surprising Abomination cameo in Shang-Chi, with Tim Roth returning to his The Incredible Hulk character after many elements of that early MCU film were seemingly ignored in subsequent phases. Additionally, the trailer depicted Bruce Banner as Professor Hulk after the Shang-Chi post-credits scene showed he later returns to human form, so fans will be looking for She-Hulk: Attorney at Law to explain that transition.

Ethan Hawke Explains How The Black Phone Is Better Than Sinister

Ethan Hawke is feeling pretty confident that The Black Phone is better than Sinister and is sharing his thoughts on why. Hawke starred in the 2012 horror film as true-crime novelist Ellison Oswalt as he and his family move into a house with a collection of home videos depicting grisly murders that awakens a terrifying spirit. Sinister scored mixed-to-positive reviews from critics and largely positive reviews from audiences, becoming a major box office hit with over $87 million grossed against its $3 million budget.

Hawke and co-writer/director Scott Derrickson are reuniting for The Black Phone, an adaptation of Joe Hill's short story of the same name centered on a young boy kidnapped by a serial killer who begins communicating with his past victims in the hopes of escaping. Derrickson co-wrote the adaptation with his creative partner C. Robert Cargill, with the two putting their focus on the film after departing Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness over creative differences with the studio. Following its acclaimed Fantastic Fest debut, The Black Phone is set to hit theaters this month.

Ahead of the film's release, Ethan Hawke caught up with SlashFilm to discuss The Black Phone. In looking at his prior collaboration with Scott Derrickson, Hawke felt that The Black Phone is better than Sinister thanks to Derrickson and C. Robert Cargill's script and more "mature filmmaking." See what Hawke explained below:

"Making a good horror film is a lot like solving a geometry problem. There's a math to a building. It has to be simple enough, complicated enough. People write books about Hitchcock and the timing and the way the cuts work. There's just a math to it. Scott's a very elegant filmmaker. I feel like this script was even better than Sinister, and it's more mature filmmaking. He makes good movies. If you love acting, you want to be with serious filmmakers because it gives you a shot."

Anticipation has been high for The Black Phone since it was first announced that Hawke and Derrickson would be reuniting for the film after the success of Sinister. Despite its initial mixed reception, the film has enjoyed a major cult following in the decade since it hit theaters, holding the ranking of the scariest movie ever in a study. Sinister would ultimately find itself dethroned in the study by Shudder's 2020 screenlife horror pic Host, which holds a rare 100 percent approval rating from critics on review aggregate Rotten Tomatoes.

As Hawke references in his explanation, The Black Phone appears to have a number of elements in its favor when pitted against Sinister. Following its debut at Fantastic Fest, critics were much more favorable in early Black Phone reviews when compared to the 2012 horror film, praising the faithfulness to Hill's source novel, Derrickson's more matured direction and Hawke's menacing performance as The Grabber, leaving many hopeful that Hawke and Derrickson's reunion has made for a more terrifying outing. Only time will tell where audiences sit on comparing the two films when The Black Phone hits theaters on June 24.

Kevin Feige Explains Why MCU Projects Have Different Tones From One Another

Ever since the Infinity Saga ended in 2019, Marvel Studios turned over a new page with their gigantic Marvel Cinematic Universe. It was time to set up a new universe, one that doesn’t have Tony Stark and Steve Rogers, but still has numerous heroes that have already been or will be introduced into the canon of the franchise.

But one thing that caught the fans’ eye is how every movie seems different now. Black Widow was a spy movie, Shang-Chi was a fighting movie, Moon Knight was an adventure series, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness was sort of a horror movie, upcoming Ms. Marvel will be a teen series, etc. The president of Marvel Studios Kevin Feige now explains how Phase 4 projects are so different from one another.

“That’s always the intention, is that the Marvel Studios logo doesn’t promise a particular group of characters and a particular exact tone. It promises a spirit and a style and a vibe and an emotion, I hope. And it’s perfect timing to go from Moon Knight to Ms. Marvel, specifically because they’re so unique and so different with Multiverse of Madness and Love and Thunder on either end of that. That is what makes Marvel in publishing and now in the MCU so unique, is being able to see all of those different tones and styles and characters. So I like very much that people say, ‘Look, they’re all different.’ Because that’s how we always feel about them and always want them to feel.” — Kevin Feige (via The Direct)

The fact is that Phase 4 of the MCU is something that Marvel fans aren’t used to. The upcoming Ms. Marvel series is set to premiere tomorrow, June 8, and it will be interesting to see how the fans will react to it because this definitely isn’t Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, or something like that. Ms. Marvel is described as a teen series about a teenage superhero fan who will become a superhero herself.

“A great student, an avid gamer and a voracious fan-fiction scribe, she has a special affinity for superheroes, particularly Captain Marvel. But Kamala struggles to fit in at home and at school—that is, until she gets super powers like the heroes she’s always looked up to. Life is easier with superpowers, right?” — Ms. Marvel, official synopsis

Ms. Marvel Directors Compare Working on MCU Show & DC’s Batgirl

Ms. Marvel directors Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah (Bad Boys for Life) compare working on the Marvel Cinematic Universe series to the DC Extended Universe's upcoming Batgirl movie. In just a matter of days, Iman Vellani makes her MCU debut in Marvel Studios' next live-action Disney+ series, Ms. Marvel. Ahead of The Marvels, the series will introduce Kamala Khan—a 16-year-old Pakistani American teenager who struggles to fit in until she gets powers like the heroes she looks up to.

Sana Amanat and Steve Wacker's Ms. Marvel comic sees its Captain Marvel superfan with the ability to alter her shape and size. Bisha K. Ali's Ms. Marvel changes the source material and sees its hero acquire a pair of cosmically powered bracelets that manifest light ala DC's Green Lantern. Ms. Marvel's trailers and clips have painted a vibrant picture of the coming-of-age story. El Arbi and Fallah directed episodes 1 and 6 of that story before working on Warner Bros./DC Films' Batgirl, which wrapped filming back in April.

El Arbi and Fallah join an exclusive group of creatives who've had the opportunity to work in both the MCU and DCEU. Furthermore, the pair are tasked with establishing what are arguably two pivotal characters for both universes in their first live-action solo projects. Ms. Marvel is one of the first series to center on a new, next-generation character in Phase 4, and Batgirl will introduce Grace's Barbara Gordon as the DCEU's primary Bat-person.

With Robert Pattinson's Caped Crusader in a pocket universe, the upcoming The Flash is poised to bench Ben Affleck's Batman and implement Keaton's—who will likely serve as a mentor alongside J.K. Simmons' Commissioner Gordon while the latter's daughter combats Firefly (Brendan Fraser). Batgirl is written by Christina Hodson (Birds of Prey) and promises a unique take on Gotham City. While that film likely won't exceed a TV-14/PG-13 rating, it's safe to say Gotham won't be as welcoming as Ms. Marvel's Jersey City. By the sounds of it, El Arbi and Fallah have more than enjoyed playing in both universes, which bodes well for Ms. Marvel when it premieres on June 8 and Batgirl whenever it arrives on HBO Max.