The CGI work on Tatiana Maslany’s She-Hulk in She-Hulk: Attorney At Law and Thanos are compared by Marvel’s VFX artist. The eighth MCU series on Disney+ introduced audiences to Jen Walters, Bruce Banner’s cousin who, due to an accident, transforms into another Hulk. Given Jen’s constant switch between human and green monster forms, the show’s VFX work was scrutinized. Her final appearance as She-Hulk was widely panned, especially given how different Thanos looked in Avengers: Infinity War & Avengers: Endgame.
Digital Domain visual effects supervisor Jan Philip Cramer, who did work on She-Hulk: Attorney At Law, addresses the issue in an interview with Befores and Afters. For context, he worked on the Disney+ show with production visual effects supervisors Janelle Croshaw Ralla, Shannon Justison, & Dadi Einarsson, the same team he had for Thanos, making him the ideal person to answer this question. Read the full quote from Cramer below:
“It’s also important to remember that Thanos was a bald, angry man, and Tatiana is a young, bubbly actress with a huge range of emotions, and she portrays them very vividly on her face. It turns out that the difficulty was way higher than what we created for Thanos, because Thanos didn’t need to show many emotions. He just looked great when he was looking stoically at the camera or was angry. But now with She-Hulk, we had to show a full range of emotions and facial expressions, including happy, drunk and giggling, all while talking, and the system has to still maintain and capture this.”
Like Thanos, The MCU Still Can Fix She-Hulk’s CGI
Recently, Marvel Studios had been in hot water ever since MCU VFX artists came out to criticize the poor working conditions on one of their projects. Seemingly, the franchise is known for changing scenes, forcing them to work extra hours to complete their deliverables on time. And because they are one of the industry’s largest clients, they have no choice but to give into the their demands. While fans have been ecstatic about the remaining projects in the Multiverse Saga, the VFX industry has reportedly been depressed, demonstrating how burned out the artists are.
The great news is that Marvel Studios has enough time to fix She-CGI Hulk’s work. For context, Thanos introduced in The Avengers’ post-credits scene with a similarly rough appearance. It took several cameos over several years for the franchise to perfect the design of the purple Titan. It also is worth noting that Marvel was understandingly more inclined to ensure Thanos looked fantastic at the end of the Infinity Saga, given his importance in an already massive story. Because of this, it’s possible that a large portion of the budget for Avengers: Infinity War was devoted to his appearance.
After She-Hulk: Attorney At Law, it’s unclear where She-Hulk will appear next. Given what we know about the Multiverse Saga so far, it’s safe to assume she’ll include Avengers: The Kang Dynasty & Avengers: Secret Wars. However, given her relationship with Matt Murdock, she may appear in Daredevil: Born Again. She could also be involved in the unconfirmed World War Hulk project.
Source: Befores & Afters