“I’m the last person standing between them and what they really want.” 

Secret Invasion is the next Marvel series set to land on Disney+ sometime in early 2023. Following the Skrulls’ introduction in the MCU in Captain Marvel, it was recently revealed that they have been secretly on Earth in the end credit scene in Spider-Man: Far From Home. In the end credit scene it was revealed that throughout the entire Spider-Man film, Nick Fury and Maria Hill were actually Skrulls in disguise where the real Nick Fury was in space on a Skrull ship. Since that scene, fans have been wondering how long Fury had been in space and how long Talos has been pretending to be Fury? Why is he with the Skrulls? And finally, where is the real Maria Hill? All of these questions will be answered in Secret Invasion which will probably lead directly to Avengers: Secret Wars which is set to release in 2026 and will be the final MCU movie in Phase Six and will end the Multiverse Saga… Black Panther: Wakanda Forever will be the final project to finish out Phase Four, which means we have a long way to go to get to Secret Wars. But until then, Secret Invasion will be the start of the Skrulls infiltrating our world. 

Secret Invasion: The Skrull Origins 

Nick Fury finally returns to the MCU in his own series, Secret Invasion. Samuel L. Jackson has had a pivotal role in the MCU ever since the first Iron Man film in 2008 as the head of SHIELD. His character of Nick Fury has always had a major cameo or has been the voice of reason within such catastrophic events but with Secret Invasion he will finally be getting the dedicated screen time an actor like him deserves as Nick Fury has one of the most important arcs in all of Marvel. Secret Invasion will be a crossover event exclusively for Disney+ that is nothing ever seen before and will have viewers guessing everything which is similar to Spider-Man: Far From Home which left fans with so many unanswered questions that will hopefully be figured out and explained in the Disney+ series. 

Comic History: Secret Invasion From Page to Screen 

What is Secret Invasion actually going to be about?? Since it is common for Marvel to keep most of their projects secretive, Secret Invasion is no different. Just from the teaser trailer released at D23 on September 10th, it looks like Marvel is keeping most of the plot and new characters a secret. It is assumed that Marvel will be basing it on or will loosely take inspiration from the 2008 comic series of the same title, Secret Invasion. In the comic series it follows the story of the shapeshifting Skrulls (their powers can be seen in Captain Marvel) who have secretly been infiltrating Earth for years which was completely unknown to citizens. The Skrulls also posed as some of Earth’s mightiest and powerful heroes. Usually, the Skrulls in the comics are depicted as the villains but the plot twist in Captain Marvel was that the Skrulls were “actually refugees fleeing war zones, it would seem some bad egg Skrulls are back to cause mayhem.” Based on what Time Out said, Nick Fury will not only be returning to the MCU but will be coming back to Earth to take on the threat first hand. Nick Fury was last seen in the Spider-Man: Far From Home end credit scene with Talos. 

Who’s Who in Secret Invasion?? Who Can Be Expected To Show Up?? 

Though in the comic storyline of Secret Invasion includes many dead MCU characters such as Iron Man and Black Widow, some characters such as the Fantastic Four and X-Men mutants show up but neither of those have been introduced in the MCU just yet. So fans do not believe that they will appear in the MCU just yet in Secret Invasion. Kevin Feige is still holding out on some of the most popular Marvel characters but not for long. 

The cast that we know of so far includes Samuel L. Jackson (Nick Fury), Emilia Clarke (rumored to be Abigail Brand), Ben Mendelsohn (Talos), Cobie Smulders (Maria Hill), Don Cheadle (James “Rhodey” Rhodes/War Machine), Olivia Colman (rumored to be Sonya Falsworth), Martin Freeman (Everett K. Ross), Kingsley Ben-Adir (rumored to be Gravik), Dermot Mulroney (role unknown), and Christopher McDonald (role unknown). 

Alongside Samuel L. Jackson reprising his role as Nick Fury, Ben Mendelsohn, who was first introduced in Captain Marvel as Talos wand later cameoed in Spider-Man: Far From Home.

Cobie Smulders returns as Maria Hill, who is a highly underrated character who usually cameoed with small parts in past Marvel projects, with her latest in Avengers: Endgame.

Don Cheadle will be coming back as Colonel James “Rhodey” Rhodes before returning as War Machine in his own spin-off in Armor Wars, which was originally supposed to be a Disney+ series but was recently changed to a feature film with a theoretical release. It is also rumored that Rhodey will make an appearance in IronHeart. From the teaser trailer of Secret Invasion it can be assumed that Rhodey will not be donning his War Machine armor in this series but you never know. 

Martin Freeman will be back as CIA Agent Everett K. Ross who will also be in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever but fans are speculating that a Skrull could be impersonating him. So while watching this trailer and the entire series as well, nothing and no one is what it seems because it is like Marvel to throw curve balls and have plot twists in their projects. 

Some new additions to the MCU are Emilia Clarke, Olivia Colman, and Kingsley Ben-Adir.

Emilia Clarke is rumored to be playing Abigail Brand. In the comics the character of Abigail is the commander of SWORD (first seen in WandaVision) which is the counterpart of SHIELD, some even described her as the Nick Fury of SWORD. The Secret Invasion arc in the comics is one of the most popular ones from the comics ever, which is a big deal to come to the big screen, or at least a streaming service. In this arc the Skrulls not so subtly wreak havoc not only among everyday citizens but superheroes as well. Fans suspect that if the series follows the comics, the character of Abigail will use not only her spy skills but her half-alien nature to help Fury with the Skrull threat along with Talos. 

Olivia Colman is rumored to appear as Special Agent Sonya Falsworth. She is actually a descendant of James Montgomery Falsworth, who fought alongside Steve Rogers/Captain America in Captain America: The First Avengers as one of the Howling Commandos. Fans are weary about her characters just from the little glimpse seen of her from the trailer as she told Fury, “You’re in no shape for this fight that lies before us.” 

Lastly, Kingsley Ben-Adir has been cast as the rebel Skrull leader, Gravik. Who is rumored to be the main villain of the series while others suspect that Emilia Clarke will be later revealed as a Skrull incognito.

Secret Invasion Trailer Easter Eggs 

• The trailer starts off in the dead of night with a single light beaming down from the sky revealing to be a spaceship dropping off someone. A silhouette can be seen leaving the ship. The unknown person is revealed to be Nick Fury returning to Earth. 
• Nick Fury seems to catch up with Maria Hill in a pub somewhere. Maria says, “For years, you’ve been avoiding Earth. I have called for your help plenty of other times and you’ve been pretty content to let those calls go straight to voicemail.” Fury replies, “Yeah, well, this is different.” It seems they had a falling out and haven’t talked in a while but the Skrull invasion is bringing them back together.
• Fans have always seen the character of Maria Hill with Nick Fury in all the Avengers films, they got Blipped together side by side in the credit scene of Avengers: Infinity War, as well as their so-called Skrull team-up in Spider-Man: Far From Home. Though her character is overlooked too often, Secret Invasion might be the project to bring a new light and fan base to the underrated character. In the trailer she seems to be annoyed with Fury as her fate is unknown due to the credit scene of Far From Home. This being said, fans are expected to see the two characters team up once again since this is a fan favorite duo.

• Back on Earth, Nick Fury not only meets up with Maria Hill, but James “Rhodey” Rhodes as well. Rhodey’s appearance is a pleasant surprise as it does mark the tenth appearance of his character, first introduced in Iron Man with Terrence Howard as the character but is the ninth appearance for Don Cheadle as he was recast as Rhodey in Iron Man 2 after Howard’s exit. Fans should be excited to see Don Cheadle in his own solo project, Armor Wars, which was originally supposed to be a Disney+ series but was recently changed to a feature film with a theoretical release. It is also rumored that Rhodey will make an appearance in IronHeart. From the teaser trailer of Secret Invasion it can be assumed that Rhodey will not be donning his War Machine armor in this series but you never know. 
• In the trailer Fury asks Rhodes, “How much do you know about your security details?” Confused, Rhodes replies, “What do you mean, how much do I know about them?” All of this is hinting at the secret Skrull invasion. 

• Just from the small snippet of the meeting between Nick Fury and Rhodey, which is highly secured since Fury has to get patted down before. It is unknown how much Rhodes knows about everything involving Nick Fury’s comings and goings but we must consider that he is a high-classed military personnel. From the Interrogation scene from Spider-Man: No Way Home where Peter says, “Nick Fury was there the entire time, just ask him and he can explain everything.” The Damage Control officer tells Peter that, “Nick Fury has been off planet for the past year.” Peter is highly confused by this information as were the fans when it was revealed that Nick Fury and Maria Hill were actually Skrulls in disguise. “What?!” So fans can assume that if Damage Control knows this, as well as Peter Parker, there is a good chance Rhodes does too. 
• Many believe that the scene in the trailer of Fury and Rhodey is just an exchange of information between two long-standing allies. And everyone would love to see Rhodey suit up in his iconic armor as War Machine in Secret Invasion. 
• Nick Fury looks completely different from his usual look as SHIELD director with his cool leather jacket and famed eyepatch that covers his missing eye from a scratch from a Flerken, Goose, as seen in Captain Marvel. But in the Secret Invasion trailer, the character looks homeless!! Not only is Fury rocking a beanie but is missing something from his iconic look… His lack of eyepatch may actually be a major plot piece for the whole Skrull invasion. Game Rant said, “Since Skrulls are known to replicate the identities of anyone, perhaps Nick Fury is outsmarting them by not wearing an eyepatch, as his scar may be too intricate to detail, or it’s a way of letting his allies know that he is the real Nick Fury.” This is the most popular theory surrounding Nick Fury’s look in Secret Invasion but either way fans are raving about it.

• Olivia Colman is making her Marvel debut as seen in the trailer. She is rumored to appear as Special Agent Sonya Falsworth. Her character is actually a descendant of James Montgomery Falsworth, who fought alongside Steve Rogers/Captain America in Captain America: The First Avengers as one of the Howling Commandos. Fans are weary about her characters just from the little glimpse seen from the trailer as she told Fury, “You’re in no shape for this fight that lies before us.” 

• Fans get a brief first look at Martin Freeman back as CIA Agent Everett K. Ross. Ross first appeared in Captain America: Civil War but had a major role in Black Panther where he worked closely with the Wakandans. He not only helped defeat Erik Killmonger but also helped get T’Challa rightfully back onto the throne to represent his people, so it is safe to assume he’ll hold a large role in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. Fans are speculating that a Skrull could be impersonating him. So while watching this trailer and the entire series as well, nothing and no one is what it seems because it is like Marvel to throw curve balls and have plot twists in their projects. Another fan theory is that Ross is on the run since he is a great agent for in the United States the Skrulls may be trying to kidnap him to shape shift into such an important role to infiltrate the government and Wakanda. 

• Damage Control will be showing up once again. In the trailer, some agents can be seen wearing DODC uniforms. Damage Control has appeared in many recent Marvel projects including the beginning of Spider-Man: Homecoming, the arrest of Peter Parker in Spider-Man: No Way Home, as well as hunting down Kamala Khan in Ms. Marvel and holding Emil Blonsky in She-Hulk: Attorney At Law. Damage Control is set to return yet again for Secret Invasion. Their roles are unknown to the plot as of now. Based on what Damage Control told Peter Parker in Spider-Man: No Way Home, “Nick Fury has been off planet for the past year.” It seems they have been on top of the whole Nick Fury being off planet situation. 

• Fans have spotted Ben Mendelsohn in the Secret Invasion trailer, he is the actor who played Skrull, Talos in Captain Marvel and even helped Nick Fury out in Spider-Man: Far From Home. Since Talos was disguised as Fury for the past year or so, with Fury’s return, Talos is tasked with a new mission which remains unknown. In the shot we get of Ben Mendelsohn as Talos, Talos is not in his Skrull form and seems to be in trouble with the suspected villain of the series Kingsley Ben-Adir has been cast as the rebel Skrull leader, Gravik. 

• Emilia Clarke is officially in the MCU but there is much secrecy regarding who she is playing in Secret Invasion. She is such a high profile actress with such roles in Game of Thrones, Last Christmas, and Solo: A Star Wars Story. There is no way that Marvel would bring in an actress as outstanding as her and for her character to be wasteful. As rumors and theories are going around and surfacing one of the top names that have been mentioned is the characters Abigail Brand and Veranke. 
• One of the only glimpse we get of Emilia Clarke in the trailer is her wielding a pistol, entering a room. She can most likely be an agent like Abigail Brand where in the comics she is the commander of SWORD (first seen in WandaVision) which is the counterpart of SHIELD, some even described her as the Nick Fury of SWORD. Fans suspect that if the series follows the comics, the character of Abigail uses not only her spy skills but her half-alien nature to help Fury with the Skrull threat along with Talos. Some fans expect for her unknown character to be revealed as the Skrull queen, Veranke. Either way, Emilia Clarke will definitely make an impression in the Marvel Cinematic Universe whoever the character she may be playing.

• In the trailer a helicopter launches a missile at some vehicles one including a presidential one. For a brief second fans can spot the actor Dermot Mulroney as the rumored MCU US President in Secret Invasion. In the Secret Invasion comics, it is revealed that some presidents were actually Skrulls which just proved how far the Skrulls have gone to find them in the government. 
• The final shot of the trailer is of Nick Fury back in his iconic look with his cool leather jacket and famed eyepatch. “This is my war… alone. And I’m the last person standing between them and what they really want.” “And what is that?”

“You need to keep both eyes open.” 

Secret Invasion is set to stream on Disney+ sometime in early 2023 so fans should keep an eye out for further information surrounding the series such as posters and official trailers since the trailer released during D23 was only a teaser. 

“This is just the beginning.”