Did You Spot That Wolverine Easter Egg in ‘She-Hulk: Attorney at Law’?

For the Marvel Cinematic Universe to work, Marvel Studios must carefully plan how dozens of movies and TV shows will fit into a cohesive storyline years in advance. And since the surprises in each new chapter of the MCU make the franchise so fun, Marvel Studios also needs to keep everything a secret until they are ready to reveal a new project to the public. However, some Easter eggs in the MCU foreshadow exciting projects before they are even announced, rewarding eagle-eyed fans willing to scour each frame for clues about where the MCU is taking us next. That’s precisely the case of She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, which teased the return of the Wolverine before Ryan Reynolds officially announced the return of Hugh Jackman as the beloved mutant.

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‘She-Hulk: Attorney at Law’ Secretly Announced Wolverine’s MCU Debut

Episode 2 of She-Hulk: Attorney at Law follows Jennifer Walters (Tatiana Maslany) as she tries – and mostly fails – to find a new job after her mean and green persona is revealed to the public. At a blink-and-you-might-miss moment, Jennifer is looking at alternative job options on an entertainment website and thinking about giving up being a lawyer. However, we can also see the headlines for some popular news stories on the webpage. One of them reads: “Man fights with metal claws in bar brawl.” There’s no question about it: that Easter egg is a nod to Wolverine.

Wolverine has always been a fan-favorite mutant for us comic book geeks, but the character was mainly unknown to the public until the beloved 1990s X-Men animated series, which is about to make a triumphant return in Disney+. After that, Wolverine became a pop culture icon thanks to 2000’s X-Men, the live-action movie that kick-started Fox’s successful X-Men franchise. In the film, Wolverine (Jackman) is introduced during a bar brawl that ends when he pops out his adamantium claws and overpowers his enemies. It’s a glorious action scene that sets the tone for the character while introducing the mutant to a somewhat oblivious public. The bar brawl scene became so crucial for the hero that Insomniac even used the same setting to announce their upcoming Wolverine game. So, by mentioning the bar brawl, She-Hulk: Attorney at Law wants to make sure everyone knows which character they are nodding at with their Easter egg.

What makes the Wolverine Easter egg in She-Hulk: Attorney at Law so impressive is how it reveals the ability of Marvel Studios to plan things in advance. Episode 2 of She-Hulk: Attorney at Law premiered on August 25, 2022. One month later, on September 27, Marvel Studios gave Reynolds the green light to announce that Jackman would play the Wolverine again for the MCU in Deadpool 3, which is set to premiere on September 6, 2024.

The schedule proves nothing is random in Marvel Studios’ planning. That’s because She-Hulk: Attorney at Law brilliantly keeps us wondering what that Easter egg might mean for a month before we get a definitive answer. However, since a TV episode must be ready months before its premiere, one could argue that both the Easter egg and the Deadpool 3 announcement were planned months in advance. It sure makes us wonder what other secrets Marvel Studios has been hiding right under our noses.