Marvel's Joke About MCU Contracts Is Kind Of Scary

This article contains spoilers for She-Hulk: Attorney at Law episode 1.She-Hulk, who gets Hulk-like powers when her blood mixes with his. But unlike the Hulk/Bruce Banner, Jen is determined to continue with her normal life.

She-Hulk: Attorney at Law episode 1 essentially serves as an origin story, exploring the difference between Hulk and his titular super-powered cousin. The show features a low-key clash between the two Hulks, with Bruce trying to convince Jen that her life has changed completely. To illustrate the point, he pulls out a massive binder of notes recounting his own journey as the Hulk. "This is a multi-year journey you're about to embark on," he tells her.

This feels like a rather accurate description of what it's like to sign a contract for the MCU. Marvel Studios is famous for multi-year contracts, making ing the MCU about as intimidating as it was for She-Hulk to see that binder of notes. To the MCU is to become part of a story that will continue for years, and some actors understandably fear being boxed in for literal decades of their life. Mark Ruffalo ed the MCU for 2012's The Avengers, and he's still playing the part 10 years later. The current record-holder is Don Cheadle, who first appeared in 2010's Iron Man 2 and is still part of the MCU in Phase 4.

Marvel's Contracts Are Becoming Less Intimidating (Thankfully)

Fortunately, things do appear to be changing at the House of Ideas. Moon Knight's Oscar Isaac was contracted for only one season. According to Paul Sarker, former legal counsel at Marvel Studios, short-term deals are more appealing to talent. As he explained, "If you're offering the role to someone who's just starting out in the MCU, they may be a very established actor such as Oscar Isaac or Joaquin Phoenix, and you offer them a deal with 10 options that could take up a decade of their life... That's a huge commitment." Marvel movies are incredibly demanding, meaning an actor's personal life takes a massive hit, and they struggle to make themselves available for other projects that might interest them. It seems Marvel has come to recognize this, and as a result, is moving toward shorter-term contracts.

Hopefully, then, She-Hulk's binder scene is an amusing gag referencing the MCU's past contracts, rather than the real one Tatiana Maslany was confronted with when she signed up to play the series lead. It will be interesting to see the effect these new shorter-term contracts have on the future of the MCU because it's entirely possible the studio will find it much more difficult to schedule sequels and ensembles. It's the right thing to do, but there may still be consequences of ditching the binder-like contracts seen in She-Hulk: Attorney at Law.

New episodes of She-Hulk: Attorney at Law release on Thursdays on Disney+.