Before Marvel Studios' sixth Avengers film, Secret Wars, arrives in theaters, audiences will have to tune into the upcoming Disney+ series Secret Invasion to see where things are headed for the franchise, as it careens towards the next big team-up film. A pivotal part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe's fifth phase, the series will set the scene for what is on the horizon. Both projects will take inspiration from the similarly titled comic book storyline, which revolves around the shape-shifting Skrulls.
Starring Samuel L. Jackson and Ben Mendelsohn, both reprising their roles from Captain Marvel, in which the Skrulls were introduced, the series will see an attempt by Jackson's Nick Fury, the former director of S.H.I.E.L.D. who has been off-world working with the Skrulls, to uncover a conspiracy to manipulate antagonistic Skrulls into positions of power around the world as a result of their unique shape-shifting ability. While the comic books are a clear inspiration for Secret Invasion, the series is taking inspiration from another—more surprising—source as well.
What Is the Inspiration Behind Secret Invasion?
Brian Michael Bendis was behind the Marvel Comics story arc of the same name, which—as the biggest stories tend to do—crossed over majorly into the storylines of other superheroes. In a shocking reveal, even established and well-known Marvel heroes were occasionally revealed to have been covert replacements that were placed there by the Skrulls, who were planning a silent coup.
Jonathan Schwartz, the executive producer on the Disney+ series, also explained to Vanity Fair where the inspiration had been drawn in terms of the theme of the series, noting that it would be taking cues from Cold War era espionage thrillers from the likes of author John le Carré, as well as more recent acclaimed television series which explored the themes of identity and loyalty to the cause. “We were really inspired by shows like Homeland and The Americans,” said Schwartz. “What you find is there are people that you trust or you think you can trust—or you can only trust to a certain point.”
Homeland and The Americans, of course, featured characters who had infiltrated their way into positions of influence within the circles in which they had been placed, in order to manipulate the results for their own end. The news that Secret Invasion will be based around more mature themes of spying, infiltration, and paranoia is a newer theme for the MCU, previously only really touched upon in Captain America: The Winter Soldier.
The six-episode series launches on Disney+ on June 21, 2023. Secret Invasion stars Samuel L. Jackson, Ben Mendelsohn, Emilia Clarke, Cobie Smulders, Martin Freeman, Don Cheadle, Kingsley Ben-Adir, and Olivia Colman. Check out our interview with Clarke about the series below: