What’s Up With Marvel’s ‘Secret Invasion’?

The first wave of reviews for Marvel’s Secret Invasion are coming in, and so far they are largely positive. But those less keyed into the goings-on in the MCU may be a little confused about Marvel’s latest: Is Secret Invasion a movie, a TV series, or something else entirely, like one of Marvel’s Special Presentations?

In the comics, Secret Invasion is a galaxy-altering event; Earth’s mightiest heroes and those in the wider universe are affected by the shape-shifting abilities of the Skrulls as they steal superhero identities and wreak havoc on society. Whether the Skrulls will have that same impact on the MCU remains to be seen, but the stakes are certainly very high.

Is Secret Invasion a movie?

No, Secret Invasion is not a movie. It’s a six-episode series slated to release on Disney+ weekly, starting Wednesday, June 21, 2023. Each episode is reportedly an hour long. At the moment, Secret Invasion is billed as an “event series,” meaning it’s unlikely to be renewed for a second season—though anything is possible if the show does well enough. The Skrulls, Secret Invasion‘s main antagonists, are a fascinating alien species and there is a lot of narrative potential there.

The Marvel Cinematic Universe has been expanding into television ever since the launch of Disney+, with several legacy and fresh new characters getting their own shows. Wanda Maximoff, Loki, Hawkeye, Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes, Ms. Marvel, Moon Knight, and She-Hulk have all been featured in the MCU’s TV corner, and up next is Samuel L. Jackson’s legendary Nick Fury in Secret Invasion.

Fury, first introduced in a post-credits scene in Iron Man, is the man responsible for bringing the Avengers together and for running S.H.I.E.L.D. before it was forced to disband in response to Hydra’s resurgent forces in Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Now, Fury takes on his biggest challenge yet as the Skrulls, a shape-shifting alien species first introduced in Captain Marvel, infiltrate Earth—and Nick Fury and his allies seem to be the only ones who can stop them.

Joining Jackson in Secret Invasion are MCU newcomers including Olivia Colman, Emilia Clark, and Kingsley Ben-Adir, along with MCU alumni like Cobie Smulders, returning as Maria Hill; Don Cheadle, reprising his role as James “Rhodey” Rhodes, a.k.a War Machine; Martin Freeman, coming back as CIA Agent Everett Ross; and Ben Mendelsohn, who returns as the Skrull Talos.

We get to enjoy the dangerous, gritty exploits of Nicholas J. Fury for six hours instead of two and a half; I’d call that an absolute win.

(featured image: Disney+)