SHE-HULK Director Says Her Original Pitch for the Series Included Tim Blake Nelson's Villain "The Leader"

Fans have gotten to see the first season of She Hulk: Attorney at Law in its entirety, and while the reviews were mixed throughout the season, fans were pretty happy with the unexpected finale. It was a lot of fun, and it was interesting to hear what people thought was going to happen versus what actually did.

One of the theories being floated among fans was that we might see the return of Tim Blake Nelson as Samuel Sterns, aka The Leader from The Incredible Hulk (2008). Director of the series, Jessica Gao, revealed earlier this week that she considered bringing in Edward Norton’s Bruce Banner/Hulk at one point, so that kind of made sense. But Gao is now confirming that the villain The Leader was actually part of her original pitch to Marvel.

She recently explained to ComicBook:

"In my original pitch, I did have The Leader in there. Just as an option, as a suggestion, you know? But really, I can't remember why [it was scrapped]. I don't remember if it was organically taken out, because we just came up with other stuff, or if we were told no. I honestly don't remember. But there was thought about either bringing him back or doing some version of a new version of Leader, or some relation to him. But, I mean truly, this was three years ago, and the show has evolved so much that I don't remember what actually happened."

For the fans who were bummed because this didn’t work out, never fear. Nelson is set to return as The Leader in Captain America: New World Order, which is set to hit theaters in 2024. It will be cool to see the mad scientist up against the Anthony Mackie’s Sam Wilson/Captain America.