Who Stars in the Marvel Series
Editor's Note: The following contains spoilers for 'Secret Invasion' Episode 1Disney+'s Secret Invasion is finally here, with a nefarious conflict between humans and Skrulls set to tear apart the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The first new Marvel series since She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, Secret Invasion takes a much darker look at the MCU, depicting an espionage tale where a rogue group of the shapeshifting Skrulls aims to take over Earth from within, impersonating some of the MCU's most prominent figures. To stop this threat, former S.H.I.E.L.D. director Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) must return to Earth for the first time in years to put a stop to this mystery and end a genocidal plot.
A character with a history in the MCU as long as Fury is absolutely exciting, but Fury will not be the only Marvel character returning for the new series espionage story. To find out who will be joining Nick Fury on his latest adventure (and who may be a Skrull in disguise), here is a comprehensive cast and character guide for Secret Invasion.
Secret Invasion
TV-14SuperheroFury and Talos try to stop the Skrulls who have infiltrated the highest spheres of the Marvel Universe.
Release Date June 21, 2023 Cast Samuel L. Jackson , Ben Mendelsohn , Olivia Colman , Emilia Clarke , Christopher McDonald Main Genre Superhero Seasons 1 Studio Disney+ Franchise Marvel ExpandSamuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury
The star of such massive films like Pulp Fiction, Unbreakable, and the Star Wars prequel trilogy, Samuel L. Jackson will be reprising his role as Nick Fury whom he's already played over a dozen times.
Jackson's Nick Fury has been with the MCU since the very beginning, appearing in the first-ever end credits scene of the first-ever Marvel movie, Iron Man. As the director of the Strategic Homeland Intervention Enforcement and Logistics Division, Fury attempted to recruit Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) into something called the Avengers Initiative. Over the course of Iron Man 2, Thor, and Captain America: The First Avenger, Fury nurtured that idea until he helped assemble Earth's Mightiest Heroes in The Avengers.
Fury career as a spy took a left turn during the events of Captain America: The Winter Soldier. There, not even someone as skilled as Fury was able to foresee a hostile infiltration from H.Y.D.R.A., which successfully brought S.H.I.E.L.D. down from within. Now without a government job with the disbandment of S.H.I.E.L.D., Fury now had to work from the shadows, helping Earth's heroes anywhere he could. Fury would later be one of the trillions of people to be blipped during Avengers: Infinity War, only to be revived in Avengers: Endgame. Since then, Fury has been working in orbit on a top-secret project, though he did have his Skrull friend Talos (Ben Mendelsohn) impersonate him during Spider-Man: Far From Home.
Fury became allies with the Skrulls in Captain Marvel, which shed some light on the director's origins. While working as a fledgling S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, Fury's meeting with the Kree, Skrulls, and Carol Danvers (Brie Larson) changed his perspective on the universe, inspiring him to kickstart the Avengers Initiative. It's also the moment where Fury Lost his eye thanks to a grumpy space cat.
In Secret Invasion, Fury finally returns to Earth after hearing there is a rogue band of Skrulls hell-bent on taking over Earth. To stop this from happening, Fury will need to become a super spy once again and have some help from Talos and Maria Hill (Cobie Smulders).
Cobie Smulders as Maria Hill
Secret Invasion also sees the return of Fury's right-hand woman, Maria Hill, played once again by How I Met Your Mother star, Cobie Smulders.
Hill has also been with the MCU since Phase 1, first appearing in The Avengers as a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent who is loyal, but apprehensive about a super-powered team. Hill has proven time and time again that she is the only woman that Fury can consistently trust, keeping him safe while being hunted in Captain America: The Winter Soldier. While Fury went into orbit, Hill remained on Earth, though she also had a Skrull Doppelganger fill in for her in Spider-Man: Far From Home.
Secret Invasion still sees Hill as a dedicated friend to Fury, though she also feels that her mentor and friend abandoned her to pursue whatever he's pursuing in space. In a shocking twist, Hill is shot and killed in the first episode, potentially ending a decade-long journey for a fan-favorite character.
Ben Mendelsohn as Talos
Ben Mendelsohn may be best known for playing villains in films like Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and Ready Player One, but we see him in a more heroic light as Talos in the MCU.
Though that's not how things started for the most significant Skrull character in the franchise, as Talos initially appears as an antagonist in Captain Marvel. That's because Carol Danvers was trained to think that Skrulls were vile terrorists who wanted to overthrow the Kree Empire. Carol learned she'd been brainwashed when Talos revealed that the Kree were the aggressors and the Skrulls was just looking for a place to call home. This began a years-long bond between Fury and Talos.
Talos returns to the MCU as a less jokey and more jaded ally in Secret Invasion, being forced to fight against his kind. He's also amid significant family strife. Not only do we learn Talos' wife died, but we also learn he had a daughter, G'iah (Emilia Clarke), who is working with the enemy.
Emilia Clarke as G'iah
Another Skrull we meet in the show is G'iah, played by Game of Thrones breakout star Emilia Clarke.
G'iah is actually a character from the comics, a good-hearted Skrull agent who commonly sides with the heroes rather than the more consistently evil Skrulls. In Secret Invasion, we learn that G'iah is Talos' daughter, though she is now estranged from her father and working with the Skrull rebellion. After learning her mother had died, G'iah does reluctantly put her feud with her father aside to inform him of the upcoming terrorist attack.
Olivia Colman as Sonya Falsworth
Secret Invasion gets even more star power with the Academy Award Winning star of The Favourite, Olivia Colman, who is playing Sonya Falsworth.
Sonya Falsworth is a bit of a mystery in an appropriately mysterious show. For one, she appears to be a completely original character with no comic background. She does appear to have a history with Nick Fury in Secret Invasion, even potentially being a former ally. However, she appears in a more antagonistic capacity here, telling Fury to get back into orbit and not be bothered by the Skrull conflict. While not confirmed as of yet, that sure sounds like something a Skrull would say...
Don Cheadle as James Rhodes / War Machine
Another classic Marvel character has a smaller supporting role in Secret Invasion, that being Don Cheadle as James "Rhodey" Rhodes, AKA War Machine.
Rhodes first appeared in the original Iron Man as the best friend of Tony Stark, though he was originally played by Terrance Howard. Cheadle debuted as the character in Iron Man 2, where he finally got his own suit of Iron armor to become the mighty War Machine. Since then, Rhodey has helped Earth's heroes in various capacities, but almost always stays loyal to the United States government given his status as a Colonel.
Secret Invasion sees Rhodey's career continue to climb, being a personal advisor to the President of the United States (Dermot Mulroney), himself.
Kingsley Ben-Adir as Gravik
The OA star Kingsley Ben-Adir plays Gravik, one of the most significant Skrull villains in Secret Invasion.
We don't learn too much about Gravik in Secret Invasion's first episode other than that he is as skilled as he is ruthless. We see this in the end when he outmaneuvers Nick Fury to pull off a deadly terrorist attack in the heart of Moscow. Even worse, Gravik is the one who murders Maria Hill, making him public enemy number one for Fury.
Martin Freeman as Everett Ross
Martin Freeman's return as Everett Ross from Captain America: Civil War and the two Black Panther films is more of a cameo, but still worth mentioning.
We first meet Ross as a government agent in Civil War before helping the nation of Wakanda overthrow a tyrant in Black Panther. Ross helps Wakanda again in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, where we also learn that Ross was once married to a new shady MCU character, Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus). The Ross we see in Secret Invasion isn't actually Ross, but is in fact an imposter Skrull, who almost gets away with some sensitive information.
Episode 1 of Secret Invasion is available to stream on Disney+.
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