‘Secret Invasion’ Cast & Creators On Why Audiences Might Doubt Nick Fury In Marvel’s Espionage Thriller

Katie Campione
·3 min read
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Expect to see a different side of Samuel L. Jackson’s Nick Fury in Secret Invasion.

It’s been a while since audiences have seen the former Director of S.H.I.E.L.D, who last appeared aboard a spaceship in the post-credit scene of Spider-Man: Far From Home. In Secret Invasion, he’s finally returning to Earth to help thwart an invasion from a faction of rebel Skrull, the alien race that has been searching for a new homeland since their planet Skrullos was destroyed.

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“At one point in the series, Nick realizes this is his own battle for different reasons,” director Ali Selim told Deadline at the Secret Invasion Los Angeles premiere. “It’s less about vanquishing the bad guy and more about defending the moral code that Nick Fury has developed throughout the MCU. In a way, he’s the only being in the universe that can defend that moral code.”

Of course, Fury is no stranger to saving the world. He founded the Avengers. But, since returning to after Thanos’ snap, the spy has lost his footing, explained executive producer and Marvel VP of Development Jonathan Schwartz.

“I think we’ll see a version of Nick Fury that’s a little bit unlike past versions of Nick Fury, who was almost omniscient and six steps ahead and knew everything that everyone else was thinking before they were thinking it,” he added. “This is a version that is a little bit more on his back foot and a little bit older, and we’re going to wonder to ourselves, ‘Does Nick Fury still have what it takes to save the world?'”

For Secret Invasion, Marvel traded in the super suits and intergalactic battles for a more grounded (literally and figuratively) espionage thriller. Opposing Fury and leading the plan to take over Earth is a radical Skrull named Gravik (played by Kingsley Ben-Adir), an entirely new character to the MCU with no backstory in the comic books.

According to Ben-Adir, Gravik has “got it out” for Fury and Talos (Ben Mendolsohn), adding that the character is someone who has “eaten sh*t his whole life.”

“What does it mean to trust no one and to use everyone around you, and when causing mass destruction becomes your sole motivation for living?” Ben-Adir pondered of his character. “I think he felt so much pain and hurt and trauma in his life. The only way that he feels engaged is when he’s seeing other people go through what he did, which is kind of weird and f*cked up. But it made it interesting for me.”

The suspense is amplified by the Skrulls’ shapeshifting abilities, which make it quite impossible to know who to trust. They could be anywhere, posing as anyone, at any given time.

“It gives the show such an urgency and has the viewer on the edge of their seat,” said Emilia Clarke, who joins Ben-Adir’s Gravik on the opposing side as G’iah, the daughter of Talos. “You literally have no idea what’s going to happen because it’s Marvel, so anything could happen.”

Secret Invasion premieres on Disney+ June 21.

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