On August 18th She-Hulk: Attorney at Law will drop on Disney+. We’ve been getting ready here at The Cosmic Circus, from rereading the comics and putting together reading guides (one or two), to peeking at QR codes hidden (but not quite active) in the trailers among other news and features. A ton of speculation and chatter around the show has been about the character of Daredevil – the world was set abuzz with that rooftop vaulting entrance.
We’re just as jazzed as anyone about Charlie Cox appearing again as Matt Murdock, however, we are just as excited to see how Tatiana Maslany brings Jennifer Walters, aka She-Hulk, to life. And we have a new theory that adds to have fun this series will be, and how it may pay homage to certain TV series before it. As I will lay out for you here, we have a theory that there could be a She-Hulk musical episode or a regular musical feature in the first season.
When we say “musical” episode, we’re not talking about a Rogers: The Musical Broadway show like we saw in Hawkeye last year. Instead, we’re thinking of a She-Hulk episode more in the vein of Ally McBeal’s “The Musical: Almost” or Buffy’s “Once More, With Feeling.”
Could Ally McBeal be an inspiration for a She-Hulk musical episode?
A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, there was another female-helmed comedic legal drama that regularly toed the line between reality and fiction. We may not have had high-speed internet in those prehistoric days, but we did have Ally McBeal.
The show was created by David E. Kelley and was in the same universe as the show The Practice and aired for five seasons, starting in 1997. Calista Flockhart played the character Ally McBeal, a lawyer who worked at the firm Cage and Fish. The show also starred someone MCU fans are quite familiar with. That’s right, Robert Downey Jr. was also a part of the cast of Ally McBeal in seasons four and five.
The show was a massive hit until ratings waned in the fifth season. Overall, Ally McBeal featured a ton of daydreaming and dealt a lot with the characters’ love lives (or lack of). Ally fantasized her way through life, and we, the audience, saw those sometimes outlandish dream-like sequences. It reminds us of the fourth-wall-breaking green super-powered people lawyer herself.
We do know that there is an intentional Ally McBeal influence in She-Hulk: Attorney At Law, according to a Yahoo interview with Kat Coiro, who directed it:
“Ally McBeal was absolutely a reference for this show. And so, it was always about finding that balance between making a half-hour comedy, which is a new genre for the MCU, and still feeling like we fit into the universe that has been created. So it was always, you know, going back and forth between that. And there’s a lot of drama, and there’s action.” – Kat Coiro (via Yahoo News)
Ally McBeal often used music as a central part of its storytelling. The characters frequented a bar called Martini Bar and listened to the musical stylings of Vonda Shepard and others. And there were a ton of musical guests in the show. Elton John, Jon Bon Jovi, and Mariah Carey are some of the megastar names that appeared. Ally McBeal wouldn’t be the same without its quirky music. There was even a specific musical-ish episode of the show in the third season – “The Musical: Almost.”
The cast hint at a She-Hulk musical episode
Another big clue about a musical something in She-Hulk: Attorney At Law is that several cast members have said as much. Tatiana Maslany herself has stated that she sings in the Disney+ series, but she doesn’t say if it’s just another MCU karaoke scene or something more fourth wall breaking like a full musical episode.
According to The Direct (who referenced the podcast Scott Hasn’t Seen), Maslany will be singing Madonna’s “Fever.” She also mentioned singing “It Ain’t Easy Being Green.” (“Bein’ Green,” was written by Joe Raposo and originally sung by Jim Henson as Kermit the Frog)
Perhaps She-Hulk having some musical elements shouldn’t be too shocking when the cast is quite musically inclined! Maslany has played in multiple musicals, such as Oliver! and The Secret Garden.
Jameela Jamil, who also stars as the supervillain Titania, seems to have a singing talent of her own. She’s going to star in the upcoming Peacock spinoff of Pitch Perfect.
Let us not forget as well that Renée Elise Goldsberry is also a part of the cast! Originating the role of Angelica Schuyler in Hamilton on Broadway, she has been in musicals such as Dreamgirls, The Lion King, and Rent.
She also just happened to recur as “singer” in 43 episodes of Ally McBeal! That’s right – Goldsberry was one of Vonda Shepard’s backup singers before she went to work on Broadway. Seems like a full circle moment!
Megan Thee Stallion also may show up in She-Hulk
A few months ago, we found and reported evidence that the Grammy-award-winning artist Megan Thee Stallion was going to be in She-Hulk. The article also mentioned a rumor from the YouTube channel Everything Always that stated: “the rapper would appear during the series as a ‘fictionalized version’ of herself, and her appearance would span across a number of episodes.”
A regular gig at a bar like the Martini Bar from Ally McBeal sure sounds like it could work in this instance. It’s a well-known trope in lawyer shows that the attorneys decompress in a bar, and having Stallion make regular appearances there would be a fantastic way to elevate that story device. And again, Ally McBeal did something similar with Shepard regularly featuring in the show.
We know that Megan Thee Stallion has some kick-ass acting chops. This past weekend, she showed them off as her alter-ego Tina Snow in Starz’s P-Valley. (Which if Stallion is in She-Hulk begs the question – is P-Valley part of the multiverse?)
Even more musical inclinations
Not to channel Charlie from It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia with his board of conspiracies and connections too much, but there’s more.
She-Hulk showrunner Jessica Gao is well-known for working on Ricky and Morty. But before that, she worked on Nickelodeon’s The Mighty B!, where she came up with the lyrics to the annoying jingle Blue Lake River Toilet Cake.
And She-Hulk director Kat Coiro recently worked on the movie Marry Me, which starred Jennifer Lopez and Owen Wilson. It featured several musical performances that Coiro had to direct. That’s a particular skill and one we’re curious to see if came into play on She-Hulk.
Only time will truly tell. We’ll find out when the series is live, and all the episodes are out. You can stream full episodes of She-Hulk: Attorney at Law on Disney+ starting on August 18th.
In the meanwhile, it’s fun to ponder. And again, we want to emphasize that this is just a theory. What do you think about the idea that we could get a musical episode or feature in She-Hulk? Please join the conversation and share your thoughts with us on Twitter @MyCosmicCircus.
Source: Yahoo News
