Here's everything we know about Marvel's Secret Invasion show, a new streaming series on its way to Disney+. As part of the MCU's Phase 4, the Disney+ production continues the storyline of Nick Fury and the Skrull Talos, who previously appeared together in both Captain Marvel and Spider-Man: Far From Home. The TV series will be based on the comic book run of the same name and looks to infuse the MCU with a healthy dose of sci-fi horror.
Marvel Comics originally published Secret Invasion in 2008. The eight-issue crossover series centers on the Skrulls' invasion of Earth, and how they take the identities of various superheroes. The backstory involves Captain Marvel's Kree and the Skrulls, alien Marvel characters who are engaged in a war that results in a near catastrophe on Earth. In response, a secret superhero organization known as the Illuminati warns the Skrulls to keep their distance and are subsequently kidnapped and studied without really ever knowing what transpired. The shapeshifters eventually invade Earth and manage to replace various superheroes. In Marvel Comics, the Skrulls first appeared in Fantastic Four #2 and most recently collaborated with the Kree for a war on Earth led by Hulkling.
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Marvel's Secret Invasion show has been in the works for Phase 4 for a while, and Comic-Con 2022 revealed some key new information. This included returning and new cast confirmations, insight into the series' tone, and even a brand-new teaser trailer. Here's everything we know so far about Marvel's Secret Invasion show.
Secret Invasion Trailer
The D23 Expo in 2022 shed even more light on Secret Invasion after its Comic-Con appearance in the same year. Most importantly, Disney has released an official trailer. The footage shows Nick Fury meeting with Maria Hill (although whether it's really them or their Skrull impersonators is unclear), to discuss a mysterious new threat so important that Fury was willing to return from space. Nobody can be trusted, including James Rhodes/War Machine's security detail, and Talos (Ben Mendelsohn) looks to be in conflict with his own race. All of these beats from the trailer confirm story details that were already out, but there are some new twists as well. Martin Freeman's Everett Ross is back, and Olivia Coleman is playing an unknown character in conflict with Fury. The trailer also teases that the alien race has a secret goal that nobody (except maybe Nick Fury himself) actually knows about.
Secret Invasion Release Date Info
Disney hasn't set an official release date for Marvel's Secret Invasion show, but Kevin Feige announced at Comic-Con 2022 that the series would debut sometime in the spring of 2023. Secret Invasion began shooting in the fall of 2021, so hopefully, since it's had plenty of time, the show can premiere in the first half of 2023 as planned.
Secret Invasion Story Details
Marvel's Secret Invasion show will focus on the invasion of Earth by a rogue group of Skrulls and is set during The Blip, the five-year time span after Thanos's snap when half of all life was erased. The storyline was set up in Captain Marvel, which tweaks the comics storyline by presenting the Skrull shapeshifters as heroes who escape the extermination squads of the Kree Empire. In Spider-Man: Far From Home, a mid-credits scene reveals that Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) and Maria Hill (Cobie Smulders) are actually Talos and his wife Soren (Sharon Blynn), who are fulfilling orders until Fury returns from an intergalactic mission. With Secret Invasion, the MCU complicates Talos' storyline by introducing baddie Skrulls who secretly plot against the superheroes on Earth. Likewise, setting Marvel's Secret Invasion show during The Blip presents some unique MCU timeline challenges.
Secret Invasion's MCU Connections
In Marvel Comics, the Illuminati consists of Tony Stark, Black Bolt, Namor, Mister Fantastic, Charles Xavier, and Doctor Strange. Within the MCU, the organization doesn't officially exist on Earth-616 yet (Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness introduced a version from a different universe), so the narrative will have to be tweaked. For the MCU Secret Invasion series on Disney+, it's important to consider that the rogue Skrulls invade Earth because of knowledge they previously gained from kidnapping Illuminati members. From there, anything is possible in the Phase 4 series, since the shapeshifting invaders can pose as anybody, dead or alive.
Moving forward, Secret Invasion can establish the narrative groundwork for a future team-up movie in the MCU. In the comics, Empress Veranke infiltrates The Avengers, which leads to a showdown in New York City between the real group members, assisted by Nick Fury, and the Skrulls. With Secret Invasion, Marvel will seemingly tease a movie storyline by revealing that one of the Avengers has been replaced, while also aligning Nick Fury with S.W.O.R.D., otherwise known as the Sentient World Observation and Response Department. What's intriguing is that the bad Skrulls could potentially hide their motivations for an entire film and even appear as superheroes that have been killed off in past MCU films. Both the audience and the main Marvel protagonists will be completely in the dark about what's real and what's not.
Secret Invasion Cast
Samuel L. Jackson will star in Secret Invasion as an older-looking Nick Fury, who previously commanded a Skrull craft during the events of Spiderman: Far from Home. Ben Mendelsohn also returns as Talos after going undercover as Nick Fury's boss in Captain Marvel and impersonating Nick Fury himself in Spider-Man: Far From Home. Cobie Smulders is also confirmed to come back as Maria Hill, Nick's closest confidant since the days of S.H.I.E.L.D. British actor Kingsley Ben-Adir has been cast in a mystery villain role, while Olivia Colman, Emilia Clarke, Killian Scott, Christopher McDonald, and Carmen Ejogo are set to play – as usual for Marvel Studios – roles that have yet to be revealed to the public. Interestingly, McDonald has refused to confirm or deny rumors he's playing the MCU's version of Norman Osborn. Finally, Don Cheadle has been confirmed to reprise his role as James Rhodes/War Machine in Marvel's Secret Invasion show.
Secret Invasion Has A Darker Story
While few concrete story details have been confirmed, Cobie Smulders did reveal at Comic-Con 2022 that Secret Invasion "is a darker show." She also went on to make further comments (via Marvel.com):
"We're going to get deeper into the characters. We're going to see them in new ways, and it's going to be an exciting thriller, and you're never going to know who people are. Are they a Skrull? Are they a human? It's going to be a bit of a guessing game."
Whatever Marvel's Secret Invasion show chooses to put Fury and Hill through, audiences can seemingly be sure that it will entail plenty of gritty moments and shocking twists.