Secret Invasion is an American television miniseries created by Kyle Bradstreet for the streaming service Disney+, based on the 2008 Marvel Comics storyline "Secret Invasion". It is the ninth television series in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) produced by Marvel Studios, sharing continuity with the films of the franchise. It follows Nick Fury and Talos as they uncover a conspiracy by a group of shapeshifting Skrulls to conquer Earth. Bradstreet serves as the head writer, with Ali Selim directing.

Samuel L. Jackson and Ben Mendelsohn reprise their respective roles as Fury and Talos from previous MCU media, with Kingsley Ben-Adir, Killian Scott, Samuel Adewunmi, Dermot Mulroney, Richard Dormer, Emilia Clarke, Olivia Colman, Don Cheadle, Charlayne Woodard, Christopher McDonald, and Katie Finneran also starring. Development on the series began by September 2020, with Bradstreet and Jackson attached. The title and premise of the series, along with Mendelsohn's return, were revealed that December. Additional casting occurred throughout March and April 2021, followed by the hiring of Selim and Thomas Bezucha that May to direct the series. Filming began in London by September 2021 and wrapped in late April 2022, with additional filming around England. During production, much of the series' creative team was replaced, with Brian Tucker taking over as writer from Bradstreet and Bezucha exiting, and extensive reshoots took place from mid-June to late September 2022.

Secret Invasion premiered on June 21, 2023, and ran for six episodes until July 26. It is the first series in Phase Five of the MCU. The series received mixed reviews from critics, who praised Jackson's and Mendelsohn's performances but criticized the writing (particularly that of the finale), pacing, and visual effects.

Premise Nick Fury works with Talos, a shapeshifting alien Skrull, to uncover a conspiracy by a group of renegade Skrulls led by Gravik who plan to gain control of Earth by posing as different humans around the world.

Cast and characters

Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury:The former director of S.H.I.E.L.D. who has been working with the Skrulls in space for years before returning to Earth. Fury has been away from Earth so long in part because he is worn out and uncertain of his place in the world following the events of the films Avengers: Infinity War (2018) and Avengers: Endgame (2019). Jackson said the series would delve deeper into Fury's past and future, and allowed him to "explore something other than the badassery of who Nick Fury is" including the toll of his job on his personal life. He continued that Secret Invasion allowed him to work out some new elements of the character that his previous appearances in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) had not. Executive producer Jonathan Schwartz added that "sins from [Fury's] past start to haunt him once again" given the things he had to do to protect Earth in the past have ramifications. Ben Mendelsohn as Talos: The former leader of the Skrulls and an ally of Fury. Mendelsohn noted how Talos, along with Fury, have "lost their way" and are "up against it" since he was last seen in the film Captain Marvel (2019). Kingsley Ben-Adir as Gravik:The leader of a group of rebel Skrulls who has broken away from Talos and believe the best way to help their kind is to infiltrate Earth for the resources they need. He sets up his operation in a decommissioned radioactive site in Russia, and has a hatred for most of the Skrulls working for him, believing them to be idiots. Ben-Adir worked to find the proper level of hatred to portray in each scene, since he felt Gravik trusts no one and hates everyone but still needs the other Skrulls to accomplish his goals. Director Ali Selim said Gravik was not a terrorist or "just a bad guy with a bomb" and the series would explore the reasons for his actions. Lucas Persaud portrays Gravik as a child. Killian Scott as Pagon: A rebel Skrull and Gravik's second-in-command. Ben-Adir said Gravik sees that Pagon has ambition and wants to be a leader, but "he doesn't have the guts to take it". Scott also portrays the human counterpart whose form Pagon took in the final episode. Samuel Adewunmi as Beto: A rebel Skrull recruit. Dermot Mulroney as Ritson: The president of the United States. Richard Dormer as Prescod: A former S.H.I.E.L.D. agent who uncovered the Skrulls' plan to invade Earth. Emilia Clarke as G'iah:Talos's daughter who works for Gravik. Clarke described G'iah as having "a kind of punk feeling" to her, adding that being a refugee had "hardened her". She resents Fury since he has not been able to deliver on the promises he made in Captain Marvel to find the Skrulls a new home. Clarke worked with Mendelsohn to create G'iah and Talos's backstory to "fill in a lot of the gaps", with Clarke believing G'iah would have had an "upbringing that was regimented with training" since the Skrulls are a warring species, that would have led to a "fierce need for her own independence" while judging some of Talos's choices. G'iah was previously portrayed as a child in Captain Marvel by Auden L. Ophuls and Harriet L. Ophuls. Olivia Colman as Sonya Falsworth:A high-ranking MI6 agent and an old ally of Fury's who looks to protect the United Kingdom's national security interests during the invasion. Described as "a more antagonistic presence" in the series, Schwartz said Falsworth could be working either with or against Fury depending on their desired goals, with Jackson calling the two "frenemies". Jackson added that Colman's portrayal of Falsworth changed her dynamic with Fury, since she played the character "cozy and fuzzy" rather than contentious, which allowed for the two to "work together in a harmony that's more satisfying to the story and our backstory than any other way". Don Cheadle as Raava / James "Rhodey" Rhodes:A female Skrull posing as Rhodes (an officer in the U.S. Air Force and an Avenger) who serves as an envoy and advisor to President Ritson. Nisha Aaliya portrays Raava in her Skrull form. Jackson said Rhodes would be a "political animal" in the series rather than using the War Machine armor. Cheadle noted that this made Rhodes more of an adversary than in his previous MCU appearances, with the character caught between being "a military man following the chain of command" and someone who can go "outside the box". Once Fury becomes aware that Rhodes has been replaced by a Skrull, Cheadle felt the two enter "sort of a cat-and-mouse game" with each having compromising info on the other. The real Rhodes is ultimately released from his Skrull containment pod at the end of the series. Charlayne Woodard as Varra / Priscilla Davis: A Skrull who is the wife of Nick Fury and has a history with Gravik. Varra took the likeness of Dr. Priscilla Davis who was suffering from a congenital heart defect. Christopher McDonald as Chris Stearns: A Skrull posing as an FXN news host and member of the Skrull council. The character was based on real-life newscaster Tucker Carlson and the Fox News channel. Katie Finneran as Rosa Dalton: A scientist replaced by a Skrull that is researching various DNA samples for the Harvest project.

Reprising their MCU roles are Cobie Smulders as Maria Hill, Martin Freeman as Everett K. Ross, and O-T Fagbenle as Rick Mason. The first episode reveals that Ross had been replaced by a Skrull infiltrator, and also features Hill's death. Smulders had been aware of the character's death during her initial discussions to join the series. Tony Curran appears as Derrik Weatherby, the director of MI6 who was replaced by a Skrull. Curran previously portrayed Bor in the film Thor: The Dark World (2013) and Finn Cooley in the second season of Daredevil (2016). Also appearing are Ben Peel as Brogan, a rebel Skrull who is tortured by Falsworth; Seeta Indrani as Shirley Sagar, Christopher Goh as Jack Hyuk-Bin, Giampiero Judica as NATO Secretary General Sergio Caspani, and Anna Madeley as the UK prime minister Pamela Lawton, all members of the Skrull Council; Juliet Stevenson as Maria Hill's mother Elizabeth; and Charlotte Baker and Kate Braithwaite as Soren, the wife of Talos and mother of G'iah who was killed by Gravik; Baker portrays Soren's human disguise while Braithwaite portrays her Skrull appearance. Soren was previously portrayed by Sharon Blynn in Captain Marvel and the film Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019).

Episodes

Production Development In September 2020, Kyle Bradstreet was revealed to be developing a television series for the streaming service Disney+ centered on the Marvel Comics character Nick Fury. The character had previously been one of ten properties announced in September 2005 by Marvel Entertainment chairman and CEO Avi Arad as being developed for film by the newly formed studio Marvel Studios, after Marvel received financing to produce the slate of films to be distributed by Paramount Pictures; Andrew W. Marlowe was hired to write a script for a Nick Fury film in April 2006. In April 2019, after Samuel L. Jackson had portrayed Nick Fury in ten Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) films as well as the Marvel Television series Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Richard Newby from The Hollywood Reporter felt it was time the character received his own film, calling the character "the MCU's most powerful asset yet to be fully untapped". Jackson was attached to reprise his role in Bradstreet's series, with the latter writing and serving as executive producer.

In December 2020, Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige officially announced a new series titled Secret Invasion, with Jackson co-starring with Ben Mendelsohn in his MCU role of Talos. The series is based on the 2008–09 comic book storyline of the same name, with Feige describing it as a "crossover event series" that would tie-in with future MCU films; the series' official premise further described it as a crossover event series. Marvel Studios chose to make a Secret Invasion series instead of a film because it allowed them to do something different than they had done before. Bradstreet had worked on scripts for the series for about a year, before he was replaced with Brian Tucker. Directors were being lined up by April 2021. Thomas Bezucha and Ali Selim were attached to direct the series a month later, with each expected to direct three episodes and work on the story. However, Bezucha left the series during production because of scheduling conflicts with reshoots, and Selim ultimately directed all six episodes. The series reportedly went through multiple issues during pre-production, which necessitated Marvel Studios' executive Jonathan Schwartz becoming more involved with the series to get it "back on track" as it had fallen behind schedule and risked some actors becoming unavailable due to other commitments. The episodes were described as being an hour-long each, with the series ultimately totaling approximately 4.5 hours. Marvel Studios' Feige, Louis D'Esposito, Victoria Alonso, Brad Winderbaum, and Schwartz served as executive producers on the series alongside Jackson, Selim, Bradstreet, and Tucker. The budget for the series was $211.6 million. This was noted for being a large budget compared to the content in the series, which did not use large action set pieces or extensive visual effects. Extensive reshoots were believed to partially be the reason for the large budget.

Writing