Secret Invasion is due on Disney Plus early this summer, and if the Marvel Cinematic Universe was ever in need of an Andor-level addition to their franchise, now would be the time; with Jonathan Majors’ assault allegations putting Marvel’s Kang-centric arc in more than a bit of jeopardy, some fans still reeling from the shaky run that Phase Four has had since Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 having started the hype train back up, it’s time for Secret Invasion to capitalize.
And from what we’ve seen of the Nick Fury-centric spy thriller so far, the six-episode series has all the tools it needs to deliver Marvel its next big win; a grounded departure from what we’re used to seeing from the MCU, a rousing cast of characters old and new, and enough intrigue to make Humphrey Bogart’s corpse twitch a little.
But, there’s one aspect of Secret Invasion that, according to MCU veteran Don Cheadle, will finally deliver a certain breed of long-overdue justice to the franchise. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, the War Machine actor pointed out how this will be the first time that he and Samuel L. Jackson, the man behind Nick Fury and a good friend of his, have gotten to properly work together on a Marvel project; indeed, the fact that we had to wait this long for these two to share the screen is borderline unacceptable.
“Day one, we sat down and were like, ‘This should have happened a long time ago, but it’s great that it’s happening now.’ Sam’s a good friend, and I’ve known him a long time. It was cool to be able to sit across from him and go back and forth.”
But while the two heavyweight actors are friends off-screen, their characters look to be much less friendly with one another in Secret Invasion, with War Machine having been promoted to the right-hand man of the President of the United States, adding a hearty splash of political grayness to his moral duties and softly putting him at odds with Fury, who’s waging a complicated, personal war against Gravik’s Skrull sect in his own right.
Secret Invasion will release to Disney Plus on June 21, and will consist of six episodes.