Marvel’s ‘Secret Invasion’: Everything You Need To Know

One last fight. Nick Fury goes to war with a powerful alien race in the latest Marvel espionage series, Secret Invasion. 

Samuel L. Jackson reprises his role as Nick Fury, former Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. and the founder of the Avengers Initiative. But a lot has changed since fans last saw Nick Fury in the end credit scene of Spider-Man: Far From Home. In Secret Invasion, a worn-out Fury returns to Earth to stop an imminent threat from the Skrulls who found refuge on the planet decades ago. If you want your Skrull theories confirmed and to know why Nick Fury is forever a changed man, Secret Invasion is the Marvel series to watch. Here is everything you need to know about the Disney + Marvel show!

Secret Invasion Release Date

According to Disney+, the first episode of Secret Invasion will hit your screens on June 21, 2023. Although the show was announced in 2020, production started in the fall of 2021, and filming wrapped in April 2022.

Secret Invasion Plot Details

From the two trailers released by Marvel Entertainment on YouTube, the Secret Invasion series will focus on Nick Fury’s return to Earth after being off-world( in space) trying to recover from the events of Avengers: Endgame. And possibly stop any threats before it gets into the Earth’s atmosphere. But the danger was on Earth all along. 

Credit: Vanity Fair

In an interview with Vanity Fair, Samuel L Jackson revealed that Nick Fury had a hard time dealing with the death of Iron Man and Black Widow. When we last see him in Spider-Man: Far From Home, he is in space and has the Skrulls filling in for him on Earth. Fury wasn’t the only Marvel character affected by the death of the selfish billionaire turned-hero Tony Stark (Robert Downey Junior). He was haunted that while he was away, two of his Avengers died to save the world. Black Widow’s death, who was one of the Avengers’ first members, must have made him question his purpose and place in the world.

Credit: Marvel

This Marvel show is lightly based on the Secret Invasion comic books from creators Brian Michael Bendis and Leinil Francis Yu that was published from 2008-2009. The Avengers’ attempt to uncover the Skrulls’ plan to conquer the world leads to a massive battle between the Marvel heroes and the Skrulls, who’ve been planning their invasion for years.

Check out this 2023 Secret Invasion mini-series from Ryan North and Francesco Mobili. In the Marvel Secret Invasion trailer, Maria Hill has been trying to contact Fury with no luck. But he can’t keep ignoring what’s happening on Earth after uncovering the Skrulls’ invasion plot. This shapeshifting race of aliens is taking over critical offices worldwide, from government officials to key Avengers individuals; they are putting everything Fury has struggled to build at risk.

Credit: Vanity Fair

After the events of Avengers: Endgame, some of the world’s mightiest heroes aren’t alive to help in this fight. In Captain Marvel, Fury had promised to help the Skrulls find a planet where they could live peacefully. But it wasn’t as easy to accomplish because decades later, the Skrulls are still hiding and must live as humans. As a result of being sidelined, a group of Skrull extremists led by Gravik (Kingsley Ben-Adir) was formed from Talos’ faction. The group is determined to take what they were promised by any means necessary. While Nick Fury had an entire spy network of Skrull agents working for him, they turned on him and Talo after waiting all this time with no results.

Secret Invasion Cast

The cast of this Marvel series will include characters you’ve come to know and love from the Marvel universe, along with new faces like Emilia Clarke, known for her role in Game of Thrones as the mother of dragons. 

Credit: Vanity Fair

As mentioned above, Samuel L Jackson will reprise his role as Nick Fury. But he isn’t the indestructible guy fans came to know. Ben Mendelsohn will play Talos, who appeared as a refugee trying to keep his family and people alive in Captain Marvel. Emilia Clarke joins the MCU as G’iah, Talos’ daughter who was only a child during the events of Captain Marvel. Now she’s all grown up and hoping to help her people get what’s rightfully theirs. Being constantly at war has hardened her, and with her strained relationship with her father, she carries many emotions that viewers can understand.

Credit: Vanity Fair

Cobie Smulders returns as Maria Hill. Although Hill, who appeared in Spider-Man: Far From Home, was revealed to be a Skrull  from the Secret Invasion trailer, the real Maria Hill is pissed off that Fury was ignoring all her attempts to reach him. But Fury seems to think she is the only person he can trust now.

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Kingsley Ben-Adir plays the new big bad, Gravik, who leads the extremist group of Skrulls. Don Cheadle also returns as James Rhodes. But he is more focused on the political aspects of the Marvel universe, not his machine armor suit. Martin Freeman reprises his role as CIA agent Everett K. Ross whose last appearance was in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.

How Many Episodes Will Secret Invasion Have?

Secret Invasion is expected to consist of six episodes. It is pretty short, even for a Marvel series, but the episodes will be released weekly. In an interview with Vanity Fair, Secret Invasion producer Jonathan Schwartz shared that the show also takes inspiration from espionage and spy-like series like The Americans and Homeland. So although it will only air for six weeks, the mini-series will answer many questions about the future of the Skrull species.

What Secret Invasion Means for the MCU

Like other Marvel shows, the storylines are always connected, so you shouldn’t expect any different from Secret Invasion. The show will likely set up Don Cheadle’s character, Rhodey, for his solo movie, Armor Wars. So aside from focusing on his work with the president, we could learn more about what happened to him after  Avengers: Endgame. 

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But the main focus of the series will still be Nick Fury. They are probably setting him up for his appearance in the Captain Marvel sequel, The Marvels. Marvel fans could also get details on how Wakanda is fairing from CIA agent Everett Ross and what the CIA’s role will do to help Fury stop the Skrulls’ plan to conquer Earth.

Where is Nick Fury’s Eye Patch?

It’s odd to see Nick Fury without his iconic black eye patch. Fans finally learned what happened to his eye in Captain Marvel, and it wasn’t as apparent as they expected. So when Fury is pictured without his signature black eye patch and a cat in his home in the Secret Invasion trailer, it raises some questions. 

Credit: Marvel

Samuel L. Jackson clarified that Fury’s decision not to hide his damaged eye was personal. Fury doesn’t feel like himself; he doesn’t feel as strong and is more vulnerable after losing many people close to him. Producer Schwartz also says that Nick Fury’s past actions to protect the world are finally returning to haunt him. The consequences of his actions of not keeping his promise to the Skrulls who dedicated their lives and time to work for him are here. And the human world could pay for his choices even though he was doing it for the greater good.

Where to Watch Marvel’s Secret Invasion Trailer

The first trailer was released in September 2022 at the D23 Expo. The second Secret Invasion trailer, released in April 2023, sheds more light on the war Fury has to battle and why he is going at it alone. Watch the trailer here!