Although it may seem like Marvel doesn’t reject any idea, the studio rejected three of Jessica Gao’s pitches before she landed She-Hulk.
Gao was speaking at the She-Hulk global press conference when she revealed these surprising stumbles in her MCU journey. However, she acknowledged that the upcoming Disney Plus series was the “right project,” and she’s grateful for the earlier rejections:
“I was elated because it was a dream job, but also I’d been rejected by Marvel three times for previous projects, so I was like, ‘I guess fourth time’s the charm!’ It was the right project. I’m glad they rejected me so many times.”
Although no one in showbusiness is safe from rejection, we have a feeling that Gao is hearing “no” less frequently than before. Besides creating, writing, and executive producing She-Hulk, she wrote for the likes of Robot Chicken, Silicon Valley, and Rick and Morty, the latter for which she won an Emmy. Now that she’s in the MCU, Gao might make the jump to movies, perhaps one or more of the Phase Five or Six projects like Captain America: New World Order, Thunderbolts, Fantastic Four, Avengers: The Kang Dynasty, or Avengers: Secret Wars. Or she’ll stick with series, and if She-Hulk expands past its first season, we might be seeing her name on the show for years to come.
You can watch the series that brought an end to Gao’s Marvel rejections, She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, on Disney Plus, starting Aug. 18 and concluding on Oct. 13.