Tim Roth comments on his future in the MCU after his appearance on She-Hulk: Attorney at Law. Roth returned to play incarcerated supervillain Emil Blonsky, aka Abomination, the first client Jennifer Walters (Tatiana Maslany) is tasked with representing at her new law firm. Blonsky's first onscreen appearance was in 2008's The Incredible Hulk, and much like Walters is Bruce Banner's previously unmentioned cousin, The Incredible Hulk is the oft-forgotten distant cousin of the MCU films. In it, Abomination was the main antagonist opposite Edward Norton's version of Banner. Now Marvel seems set to rectify The Incredible Hulk with the MCU ​​​​​​by making Abomination a prominent figure in She-Hulk.
Blonsky's history in the show has mostly gone unchanged. He was a commando first tasked by U.S. Army General Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross to capture the Hulk after his initial violent transformation. When the Hulk got loose, Blonsky agreed to receive a super-soldier serum injection that turned him into Abomination, before going on a quest for revenge against Banner. Although that backstory remains intact, the Blonsky of She-Hulk appears far more even-keeled. The show hints that a lot's happened between the Phase 1 film and Blonsky's Phase 4 reemergence, including his capture and imprisonment by SHIELD, him getting a better grip on his powers, almost joining The Avengers, and making amends with Bruce.
Related: Everything That Happened To Abomination After Incredible Hulk
In an exclusive interview with Screen Rant, Roth talks about his potential future in the MCU after She-Hulk. When pitched the idea that Abomination could square off with Deadpool next, Roth seems game, saying, "Yeah, I could see that. I could definitely go for that." However, when asked if he knows when and where Emil could return down the line, the actor is far more uncertain. Check out Roth's quote below:
"I'll tell you what, I don't know anything. I don't know what they want to do. It's fine; that's on them. That's what they do. But it's fun. This was hard work, but it was fun at the same time. The good ones to have in your life are."
Kevin Feige often tries to keep future MCU storylines and details top secret, even to the actors involved. Although Roth doesn't have any more answers than the rest of the world, the fact that he thinks his return is still a possibility means that his story likely isn't concluded in She-Hulk, and that there's room for Abomination to return. He seems even more likely to play a role in future films or shows, given his appearance fighting Wong in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, which all but confirms how powerful Abomination is. Marvel tends to like to keep powerful characters around; all the better for creating conflict when facing off with their expansive roster of heroes.
It's unclear whether Blonsky is really as reformed as he says he is. Roth excels at playing characters with hidden motives who dance on the edge of trustworthiness as he did in the recent thriller Resurrection. If there are no plans to keep Blonsky in the greater picture, there should be. Since Mark Ruffalo has never been given a solo Hulk feature, keeping Blonsky around would bring further cohesion to the Hulk's storyline. Until viewers know for certain, at least they can continue to enjoy Roth's performance as Blonsky on She-Hulk.
She-Hulk: Attorney at Law releases new episodes Thursdays on Disney+.