Marvel Studios’ “Secret Invasion” departs from the usual superhero content we’ve seen. There are no billionaire playboy philanthropists with high-tech suits, super soldiers with a heart of gold, Hulks, or webslingers. The new Disney+ series finds humanity in the MCU by using the cold war spy thriller tropes to tap into something dark and complex. And it uses the pages of the acclaimed Brian Michael Bendis comic arc where humans and shape-shifting Skrulls coexist but cannot trust each other to give fans something refreshingly gloomy while also reflecting the world we live in today.
ThatsItLA joined their fellow journalists for the “Secret Invasion” press conference where the cast and crew about the timing of the release, the tone of the, and what makes this cast so perfect.
With it being over a year since Marvel Studios released a limited series on Disney+, producer and Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige bluntly stated why now was the perfect time to release “Secret Invasion.” “Now is the time because it was finished and ready to go. Ready to be released to the world. And it was ready. It was done. And that’s when you show things,” he said.
And in terms of how “Secret Wars” connects to future Marvel projects, Feige said that the events of the limited series will have repercussions later on and that they will be felt.
But Feige was excited to see Marvel Studios explore a familiar genre in “Secret Invasion.” He said producer Jonathan Schwartz entered his office to pitch the forthcoming series as a political and spy thriller. “He came in with this idea of translating the great Secret Invasion storyline from the comics in a darker, grittier spy show,” he said. “This was an attempt to dive back into things we touched upon in the ‘Captain America: The Winter Soldier’ but hadn’t in a while. Really delving into the tone of a spy show and seeing a very different dynamic between Fury and Telos than we had seen in sort of our 90s Buddy action movie, Captain Marvel.”
And what drew director Ali Selim to the series was that it was grounded and very human. “I think it’s a very human show. It’s the Nick Fury story. He’s a human, he does have his own version of superpowers, but they’re not like superhero superpowers. And it’s a story about him putting his feet back on the ground again after some time,” he said. “I like that because I like human stories that come from the heart and our human-scaled and reach for a universal appeal rather than the reverse.”
Selim was also attracted to the espionage aspect of “Secret Invasion.” The director looked at films like “The Third Man” and “The Conversation” as sources of inspiration for the limited series because they were political and spy thrillers that were very human and very grounded. “I hope we brought enough of that to create the tone,” he said. “And there is, without any spoiler alert, I think there is a point in the story where Nick Fury realizes this is his own battle, and he sort of becomes a classic American Western hero, and the tone sort of shifted in the later episodes to Nick Fury as John Wayne.”
Jackson was taken aback by the Nick Fury as John Wayne comparison. Cheadle said Jackson’s performance was probably more like Richard Roundtree or Shaft. Joking aside, the actor saw “Secret Invasion” as more than a Nick Fury story. “We got all these other interesting people that are flowing around through it,” he said. “It’s a graphic story. It’s Amelia’s story. It’s Olivia’s story, all these people that they’re being introduced to that make you want to say, ‘Well, shit, I want to go home with them to see what’s happening.'”
“And it’s a great ensemble of people, you know, and Rhodey being, you know, who he is, in this particular series as a political animal that we haven’t seen before, and his relationship with Nick, that’s some undercover shit happening,” he said. “Nick Fury happens to be the generator of a lot of that. But he leads you to all these other people.”
Of course, a lot has changed since then, with Nick Fury being summoned back to Earth to respond to the impending Skrull invasion after spending so much time on the S.A.B.E.R. space station. It’s such a dire situation for Talos (Ben Mendelsohn), who would only have called if necessary. Although, the actor kept everyone from remembering how long it has been since he appeared in a Marvel project. “I did the whole Spider-Man thing. What are you tripping? You forgot about that” he asked. “I did the whole of the Spider-Man thing. That was a really tough job. That was a much harder job for me.”
Joking aside, Mendelsohn said that Talos is in a challenging time and that his relationship with Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) is in an evolved but fragile state. But he isn’t the only one in a different role in the new era of the MCU. And Don Cheadle is excited to explore more of his character, James Rhodes, who seems to have traded his suit of armor spiffy. “I think we’re just finding out what’s happening with Rhodey as this series goes on. He’s in a different role. We see him as more of a political animal than we have in the past,” Cheadle said. “He’s been more of a military man, but now he’s sort of the right hand of the president and a special envoy in that regard.”
Such a turn of events would allow us to see more of his relationships with other characters of the MCU, especially the ones whom he didn’t get to share much screen time with in the past. “I’m looking forward to getting under the hood of who he is and seeing how this relationship not only with Nick Fury but the other cast members evolves,” Cheadle said. And he promised us no spoilers but that the upcoming episodes will be fun.
As for Nick Fury, the man at the center of “Secret Invasion,” fans will see more of him in the past and present. Though such reveals might take away the enigma, Jackson says the more we see of Fury, the more we will like him. “The more you find out about him, the more you’re gonna like him,’ he said. “It’s just peeling the onion and having a good time. You meet people that I know.”
Jackson was also excited about the opportunity to have an extensive scene with Don since he never had one in these films. The actor was also enthusiastic that fans would see more Fury outside the office and find out what kind of residence he has.
Newcomer Emila Clarke, who plays G’iah, Talos’ daughter, was simply overjoyed with working with such an ensemble. “Who would ever not want to be sitting here with this with these with all of these incredible people,” she asked. “It’s like, even just a single one of these people on their own is enough. Altogether. It’s completely undeniable.”
While Clarke’s experience working on spoiler-heavy shows like “Game of Thrones” prepared her for “Secret Invasion,” the one thing she can say with certainty is that the set was the “warmest, most gorgeous, safe, lovely, happy, and playful” set she had ever been on. “It’s less kind of advice in being in the world of Marvel,” she said about joining the MCU. “You’ve just gotten to the top of the tree. You’re there. And then you find everyone there is just having a good time. That’s how it felt.”
Olivia Coleman, who plays the diabolical Special MI6 Agent Sonya Falsworth, couldn’t think about anything but getting to work with Samuel L. Jackson. And while their character’s relationship is a bit tense, Jackson snidely said there was no tension and joked that the steamy love scene was still there. But she tried her best to describe Sonya and Nick’s friendship without giving too much away. “They have a lovely friendship. Although she likes to bully you with her heavies, which doesn’t strike me as much of a friendship, they’ve got history. They trust each other, which is what I think I’m allowed to say,” she said regretfully. “I might never be invited back for another press conference.”
But if Coleman had to say anything about her character, it would be: “Sonya works for MI6. And she likes wearing red., And she’s quite funny. And she’s potentially, a little bit not that nice sometimes,” she said.
“Secret Invasion” debuts exclusively on Disney+ on June 21, 2023.
