Marvel Studios is finally going big on TV. One of the series further out on the horizon is Marvel Studios’ Secret Invasion. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the thriller now has its directors.
Thomas Bezucha (Let Him Go) and Ali Selim (The Looming Tower) will helm the series. Samuel L. Jackson and Ben Mendelsohn will reprise their roles as Nick Fury and the shape-shifting Skrull called Talos respectively. Recent casting news has Olivia Colman, Emilia Clarke, and Kingsley Ben-Adir joining them on screen. Kyle Bradstreet, who wrote and executive produced Mr. Robot, is writing and executive producing Secret Invasion.
Details on Secret Invasion are very light otherwise. Marvel is keeping the plot under lock and key. In the Marvel comics, the Secret Invasion storyline revealed that Skrulls had replaced a number of superheroes in an attempt to gain control over the planet. The Skrulls we’ve met so far in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, however, have been framed as refugees. 2019’s Captain Marvel’s climax had its titular character fighting off Kree warriors so that a small group of Skrulls could get away to safety. Talos and Soren once again popped up in Spider-Man: Far From Home, where we saw them working actively with Fury. If the Skrulls are once again the ones invading, that could put Ben Mendelsohn’s Talos in an interesting predicament.
Bezucha and Selim are both relative newcomers. Both Matt Shakman (WandaVision) and Kari Skoglund (Falcon and the Winter Soldier) have over 50 directing credits to their names; Bezucha and Selim have barely a dozen between them, with years-long gaps in their resumes. It remains to be seen, of course, how that does or doesn’t affect Secret Invasion. The Russo brothers, who directed Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Avengers: Infinity War, and Avengers: Endgame were also relative newcomers, best known for work on television series Arrested Development and Community before they directed some of the most profitable movies of all time. THR says Secret Invasion begins shooting in Europe later this year, so we’re guessing we’ll see it in mid-2022 or possibly later.
In the meantime, Marvel already has Loki starting in just a few weeks on June 9, followed by its What If…? animated series this summer, and Hawkeye in the fall. Ms. Marvel is in production; shows like Moon Knight and She-Hulk have begun casting, but are still much further out.
