‘Secret Invasion’ is among the Marvel projects coming to Disney+ in 2022. Here’s what we know, so far, about the highly-anticipated series.
The Marvel Cinematic Universe is bringing an iconic comic book storyline to life on Disney+ in 2022. Secret Invasion is an upcoming miniseries that will consist of six episodes and feature characters from the MCU, including Samuel L. Jackson‘s Nick Fury. The television series is based on the 2008-2009 comic book crossover event, which showcased a faction of shape-shifting Skrulls who had been infiltrating Earth for years.
Aside from the main premise, Marvel/Disney has been pretty tight-lipped about what it’s in store for Secret Invasion. Below, HollywoodLife has rounded up everything we know so far about Secret Invasion, including its expected release date, cast, and plot details.
MCU’s Secret Invasion Release Date
Marvel has confirmed that Secret Invasion is coming out in the year 2022 — but an exact date release is anyone’s guess. It’ll be available to stream on Disney+, where all of Marvel’s projects live. WandaVision, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Loki, What If…?, and Hawkeye all came out on Disney+ in 2021. The new Marvel shows coming out in 2022, in addition to Secret Invasion, include Moon Knight, She-Hulk, and Ms Marvel. Marvel/Disney has not revealed the order that the shows will be released.
Cast & Crew
Secret Invasion will star Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson), whose been in 11 Marvel movies. Ben Mendelsohn will star as Talos, the leader of a Skrull sect who is an ally of Fury’s. Talos first appeared in Captain Marvel, where he and his fellow Skrull were refugees and running from the Kree army. In the post-credits for Spider-Man: Far From Home, Talos is revealed to be disguising himself as his Fury, who is commanding a Skrull spaceship. Former SHIELD agent Maria Hill (Cobie Smolders) will also star in the series.
Some new cast members have also signed onto Secret Invasion. They include Game of Thrones star Emilia Clarke, The Crown star Olivia Colman, Killian Scott, Christopher McDonald, and Carmen Ejogo, according to The Hollywood Reporter. There’s still no details about their characters. Plus, Kinglsey Ben-Adir is confirmed to be playing the lead villain, whose identity hasn’t been confirmed. Emilia later confirmed her casting in an interview with Jimmy Fallon in July 2021. “I’m already scared,” she said. “The first people I spoke to from Marvel were their security team and I am convinced that there is a man outside my house. There’s been a car parked there for a long time, and I swear to God, he’s undercover.”
Kyle Bradstreet is the creator and executive producer of Secret Invasion. This is his first project for Marvel. Additional executive producers include Kevin Feige, Louis D’Esposito, Victoria Alonso, and Jonathan Schwartz. The six episodes will be directed by Thomas Bezucha and Ali Selim. They will divvy up the episodes between them two to direct.
What Is ‘Secret Invasion’ About?
Marvel/Disney hasn’t said much about the plot of Secret Invasion. The show’s official longline, which was revealed when the show was officially announced in December 2020, says that the series “follows a sect of Skrulls who have infiltrated all aspects on Earth.” It is inspired by writer Brian Michael Bendis‘ hit comic book series. The eight-issue comic series explored The New Avengers, The Mighty Avengers, The Young Avengers, and more heroes learning that the Skrulls had successfully been disguising themselves on Earth for years. Spider-Woman was the first superhero to be revealed as a Skrull. Eventually, a bunch of the heroes (and even some villains) united to stop the Skrulls. They were also able to rescue the people swapped out by the Skrulls. It’s unclear how similar the TV show’s plot will be to the Marvel Comics.
Production History
Secret Invasion was officially announced in December 2020. The following month, Kevin Feige briefly discussed the show in an interview. “I mean, we’re interested in the political paranoia aspect of Secret Invasion and really showcasing the stars with Samuel L. Jackson and Ben Mendelsohn, two amazing actors that you want to have in any series, and we’re very lucky to have them for that,” he said. “That’s the sort of primary focus of that and, of course, it will tie into other things and the Skrulls in ways you haven’t seen before, but yes, anything could be anything. Wise words. But we wanted to do that as a series because it would allow us to do something different than we’ve done before.”
Filming on Secret Invasion officially began by September 1, 2021 in London. The cast and crew are still shooting scenes, and filming is expected to also occur in Europe. The first footage of Secret Invasion was shared by Marvel on Disney+ Day (Nov. 12). It showed Nick Fury, as well as what appeared to be Queen Veranke, who disguised herself as Spider-Woman in the comic series. Marvel also unveiled the official logo for Secret Invasion on Disney+ Day.