Marvel’s Secret Invasion is almost here — and no one is who they seem!
The upcoming Disney+ series will bring Nick Fury back into the fold in a big way, as his alliance with the alien Skrull race comes under fire. It seems the shape-shifting visitors have infiltrated Earth, placing themselves in positions of power and carrying out violent attacks in order to save their own civilization.
Trailers and preview clips have shown that Fury doesn’t take the threat lightly, preparing himself for “one last fight” — this time, without the help of the remaining Avengers.
While details about the series are — naturally, thanks to its title — being kept under wraps, MCU star Cobie Smulders told ET at Comic-Con 2022 that Secret Invasion would reveal the “magnitude” of the Skrulls’ clandestine occupation of Earth.
“The Skrulls are here. They’re here, baby, and they want to stay,” Smulders teased. “We got introduced to them in Captain Marvel, which was in the ’90s. And they’ve been sort of percolating into our planet and they’ve been taking human form, so we haven’t really known the magnitude of their presence. But we’re learning that in the series.”
“[Nick Fury] has a really long history with the Skrulls,” she added. “He sort of feels responsibility towards them, and he feels like he owes them a debt. So, it’s really, really complicated.”
Read on for all that we know about the upcoming top-secret series, which premieres June 21 on Disney+.
THE CAST
RETURNING MCU STARS
Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury
The former director of S.H.I.E.L.D. has been off the grid for some time at the start of Secret Invasion, working with the Skrulls in deep space following the tragic events of Avengers: Endgame. His return, to get to the bottom of multiple terror attacks on Earth — which some believe are the work of the Skrulls, trying to seize positions of power through their shape-shifting abilities — is a personal one for Fury, diving into his complicated past in an attempt to salvage the future of humanity.
Cobie Smulders as Maria Hill
A former high-ranking S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, Hill has appeared in several MCU films, though she hasn’t had a major supporting role in one since 2015’s Avengers: Age of Ultron. Secret Invasion will reportedly feature her more prominently, and also explain why she and Fury have been out of contact.
Ben Mendelsohn as Talos
First introduced in Captain Marvel, Talos has become an ally of Fury’s over the years, leading his Skrull sect and also assuming human form while on Earth. A post-credits scene in Spider-Man: Far From Home also revealed that Talos and his wife, Soren, have assumed Nick Fury and Maria Hill’s human forms, serving as stand-ins while they were away.
Martin Freeman as Everett K. Ross
The former CIA agent (and ex-husband of Julia Louis-Dreyfus’ Valentina Allegra de Fontaine), who has previously appeared in the Black Panther films, as well as Captain America: Civil War, is seen in the most revealing Secret Invasion clip fans have seen to date. Posted on a secret, password-encrypted website, the five-minute clip showed Ross meeting with a conspiracy theory-spouting character named Prescott, who lays out the case for the Skrull conspiracy, before attacking Ross. Has he been a Skrull all along?
Don Cheadle as James “Rhodey” Rhodes
Like his past few MCU appearances, it seems Rhodey will be more political operative and less War Machine in his Secret Invasion role. The Air Force officer and Avenger serves as the right-hand man to a new MCU president, played by Dermot Mulroney, and in trailers is seen cautioning Fury about the magnitude of the danger to come.
MCU NEWCOMERS
Kingsley Ben-Adir as Gravik
In the trailers we’ve seen so far, Gravik appears to be Secret Invasion‘s main antagonist, a leader of a rebel group of Skrulls — with perhaps some Flerkin powers too? — who are attempting a violent infiltration of Earth in order to get the resources they need. But, as always, there seems to be much more to his story.
Emilia Clarke as G’iah
Talos’ daughter, who was first introduced as a girl in the ’90s-set Captain Marvel. She’s been hardened by being a refugee all her life, and, in a trailer, blames Fury for “lighting the match” that has caused the world to burn.
Olivia Colman as Sonya Falsworth
A high-ranking MI6 agent, Falsworth has a history with Fury — though it’s unclear if she’ll be an ally or obstacle in the battle ahead. In the trailer, she’s seen asking where Fury’s “old friends” are — questioning why he isn’t recruiting the remaining Avengers for the fight. His cryptic answer: “This war is one I have to fight alone.”
THE STORY
In true Marvel fashion, little is known about what fans can actually expect from the mysterious new series, beyond what little character details have been revealed in interviews and preview clips.
Disney+’s official press site describes the series as such:
Nick Fury learns of a clandestine invasion of Earth by a faction of shapeshifting Skrulls. Fury joins his allies, including Everett Ross, Maria Hill and the Skrull Talos, who has made a life for himself on Earth. Together they race against time to thwart an imminent Skrull invasion and save humanity.
WHAT TO WATCH BEFOREHAND
The story of the Skrulls and their violent rivalry with the Kree is featured as a major storyline in Captain Marvel, however it’s the Far From Home post-credits scene that offers a hint at how deep the Skrull invasion may actually go.
If Skrulls have been standing in for Nick Fury and Maria Hill for some time, what other MCU characters aren’t really who they seem?
HOW TO WATCH
The six-episode Secret Invasion series will release weekly on Disney+, premiering on Wednesday, June 21.
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