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‘She-Hulk’: Tatiana Maslany reportedly lands lead, 'Orphan Black' fans outraged some don’t know of Emmy winner

Maslany is best known for her starring role in scifi thriller ‘Orphan Black’, which ran for five seasons between 2013 and 2017. She plays multiple characters in the series and won an Emmy for her role

‘Orphan Black’ star Tatiana Maslany is reportedly in the process of finalizing a deal to play the lead role of the upcoming ‘She-Hulk’ series at Disney Plus. As of yet, there has been no official announcement from either Marvel or Disney, or Maslany.

The series centers on lawyer Jennifer Walters (Maslany’s character), cousin of Bruce Banner, who inherits his Hulk powers after she receives a blood transfusion from him. Unlike Bruce, however, when she hulks out Jennifer is able to retain most of her personality, intelligence, and emotional control.

Maslany is perhaps best known for her starring role in the science fiction thriller series ‘Orphan Black’, which ran for five seasons between 2013 and 2017. Maslany was nominated for three Emmys and a Golden Globe during the show’s run, winning the Emmy for best actress in a drama series in 2016. The series focused on Sarah Manning, a woman who assumes the identity of one of her fellow clones, Elizabeth Childs, after witnessing Childs' suicide. Maslany played Manning, Alison Hendrix, Cosima Niehaus, Helena, Rachel Duncan, and several Project Leda clones, all born in 1984 to various women by in vitro fertilization.

The news of Maslany’s reported casting led to several people on Twitter asking who the actor was because they had presumably never seen ‘Orphan Black’. Despite the show’s cult popularity, it is not one of those shows that are ubiquitous with popular culture.  

“I really don't know much about Tatiana Maslany and will give her a chance, but curious who else was in the running for the role. I mean, I would give it a shot regardless who is in the role, just curious,” wrote a Twitter user. Another Twitter user said, “At the risk of sounding out of touch, I don’t know who Tatiana Maslany is. I just know she sounds like a delicious sauce.” Another person wrote, “idk who she is but cool, I look forward to checking out her when the show comes out.”

Fans of ‘Orphan Black’ and Maslany were understandably outraged with this. “Everyone saying they've never heard/don't know who Tatiana Maslany is, go watch her Emmy winning performance in Orphan Black now,” wrote a fan. Another wrote, “If you don’t know who Tatiana Maslany is, go watch Orphan Black and I promise you, you’ll end up becoming a fan instantly. She’s THAT good.” Another fan wrote indignantly, “There’s actually people asking who the Golden Globe nominated, Emmy award winner Tatiana Maslany is? Maybe if y’all watched orphan black, here’s the iconic opening scene of one of the best tv shows of the last decade now go watch it!”

Soon enough, ‘Orphan Black’ began trending on Twitter, with more and more fans coming forward to praise Maslany. “For those who are unfamiliar with Tatiana Maslany she was in Orphan Black. She played over a half dozen characters regularly. Each with a unique characterization. AND they interacted with each other. She can play *any* angle the writers choose for Jen,” wrote a fan. Another wrote, “Has no one seen Orphan Black?? Tatiana Maslany is a force of nature and plays a dozen clones throughout the series. All 5 seasons are on amazon prime so go watch it now.”

Earlier this week, Kat Coiro reportedly joined the ‘She-Hulk’ team as director and executive producer. She will direct the pilot and additional episodes of the series. Jessica Gao is writing the series and serves as executive producer and showrunner.

In addition to ‘Orphan Black’, Maslany's notable roles include titles like ‘Perry Mason’, ‘Destroyer’, ‘Woman in Gold’, and ‘World Without End’.