While She-Hulk is well-known for breaking the fourth wall, She-Hulk: Attorney at Law's showrunners had to refrain from making her go full-Deadpool with this power.
Director Kat Coiro and lead writer Jessica Gao recently addressed the extent of Jennifer Walters' self-awareness. In an interview with THR, the creative duo assured fans that the meta dialogue will be "not overpowering" across the miniseries. "It was tricky finding the balance because if I had my way, she'd be breaking the fourth wall every other sentence," Gao said. "Everybody had to pull me back a little bit more from it." Coiro also noted the symbolism of fourth wall humor in early She-Hulk comics -- which predate Deadpool's debut by many years -- explaining how "back in the comics, she was always very meta and she was always kind of taking control of her story and her narrative."
She-Hulk's earliest uses of fourth wall breaks date back to John Byrne's 1985 Sensational She-Hulk run, regularly addressing readers about plot points and even arguing with her own writers. That title not only marked Marvel's longest-running female-led comic series at the time, but also one of the first major instances of a Marvel hero incorporating meta humor as a character trait. She-Hulk: Attorney at Law's fourth wall scenes, according to Gao, will not only draw inspiration from the comics but also from Phoebe Waller-Bridge's comedy series, Fleabag, which periodically saw its lead talk to the camera about key events and revelations. According to Coiro, this influence extends to the show's depiction of Jennifer's personal life, raising questions about how a superhero might adjust to mundane things like dating or visiting the grocery store.
Recent She-Hulk trailers have featured Jennifer (Tatiana Maslany) making a handful of meta-jokes, from commenting on Bruce Banner's disappointment at her desire to stay a lawyer to the show's excessive cameos. The plot revolves around Jennifer leading the new superhuman-focused legal division of her law firm, with her first client being Tim Roth's Emil Blonsky/Abomination from The Incredible Hulk. Another confirmed antagonist is Jameela Jamil as influencer-turned-supervillain Titania, whom Jennifer is forced to fight in the middle of a courtroom. Beyond Mark Ruffalo's returning Smart Hulk, known cameos include Benedict Wong as Sorcerer Supreme Wong and Charlie Cox as Daredevil -- marking the latter's first costumed appearance since the 2018 conclusion of his Netflix series -- following a comeback cameo as Matt Murdock in 2021's Spider-Man: No Way Home.
In addition to her audience, a 2021 insider report implied that She-Hulk: Attorney at Law will see She-Hulk talk to Marvel Studios' Kevin Feige at one point. Outside the trailers, Marvel has adopted some fourth wall-inspired marketing via a phone number for She-Hulk's law division that, when called, leads to an automated message recorded by Maslany.
She-Hulk: Attorney at Law premieres on August 18 on Disney+
Source: The Hollywood Reporter