Secret Invasion Season 2: Disney Is Leaving You In The Lurch
*Secret Invasion spoilers ahead*
After years of hype, Secret Invasion was finally released, giving Samuel L. Jackson’s Nick Fury his own MCU series for the first time. Adapting one of the biggest events in Marvel Comics history, fan expectations were high; who would turn out to be a Skrull? Would Daisy Johnson, aka Quake, from Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. played by Chloe Bennet, finally become part of the MCU? And most importantly, what could be in store for Secret Invasion Season 2?
The most obvious character (Don Cheadle’s James Rhodes) turned out to be a Skrull, and in such a way that it undercut the emotion of Avengers Endgame. Chloe Bennet never had so much as a cameo, and Marvel fans actively ignored the show, resulting in the second lowest premie on Disney+.
Will There Be A Season 2?
With the lackluster reception to Secret Invasion Season 1 and how the story was mostly wrapped up so that it will feed into other Marvel projects, it’s likely we will never get a Season 2. Of course, there could be a surprise, and it could get announced since the ending did introduce a new status quo that threatens to have long-lasting implications.
Ali Selim, the director of Secret Invasion, explained in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter that there was never a plan to have a post-credits scene teasing a second season. Instead, it was always going to end with Fury going back to space in order to set up The Marvels.
Even if Secret Invasion appears to tell a complete story, it’s the Marvel universe, and nothing is ever a truly standalone project.
The Ending Of Season 1 Sets Up A Secret Invasion Season 2
The public now knows aliens are walking among them, and the result is more disastrous than the Chitauri invasion of New York City in The Avengers. Skrulls can be anyone, sending the entire planet into a new level of paranoia, as now any character, at any time, could be a green-skinned alien.
If this sounds familiar, it could be that Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. did something similar with Inhumans infecting fish oil that was then transforming people, and that was also ignored by the larger MCU.
More immediately, Emilia Clarke’s character, G’iah, is now one of the heaviest hitters in the MCU. As a Super Skrull, she could go toe-to-toe with Thor or Captain Marvel, and now that she’s working with Sonya Falsworth (Olivia Colman) to create a Skrull refuge, G’iah might be a player on the MCU political stage.
This could amount to nothing more than having her appear in scenes with Namor, Shuri, and Countess Valentina, or she might be a part of Secret Wars.
Secret Invasion Season 2 Could Bring Back Much Of The Cast
Suppose Secret Invasion Season 2 does come to pass. In that case, it’s clear who won’t be appearing in it, and that’s War Machine, Gravik (Kingsley Ben-Adir), or Talos (Ben Mendelsohn), mostly because Don Cheadle is taking James Rhodes’s story to Armor Wars and the other two are (allegedly) dead.
Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) and his wife, Varra (Charlayne Woodard), have gone off the planet, which leaves Season 2 to focus on the best characters of the first season.
Again, this is Emilia Clarke’s G’iah and Olvia Colman’s Sonya Falsworth, but though they’d be some of the few returning characters, the door is wide open these days to the most obscure characters from the Marvel comics to make an appearance.
If Skrulls are now such a concern, the Skrull Kill Krew could debut, but with a less bizarre origin than that of humans digesting Skrulls killed while stuck in the form of cows. Now, with the door open for Skrulls and Kree, the Young Avenger and eventually King of Space, Hulkling, could finally debut.
Secret Invasion Season 2 Release Plans
Marvel has a packed calendar for the next few years leading up to Kang Dynasty and Secret Wars, which means the earliest Secret Invasion Season 2 could arrive would be 2026. Upcoming Disney+ series include Loki Season 2, Echo, Ironheart, and Agatha: Coven of Chaos, all of which are expected to debut between Fall 2023 and Winter 2025.
The dual WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes have thrown production into turmoil and might cause multiple shows to be significantly delayed.
With little room on the schedule and no way to start writing Secret Invasion Season 2 until the end of the WGA strike, even 2026 might be an optimistic turnaround.
What’s Next For Nick Fury
Secret Invasion was marked as a Nick Fury solo series, finally giving Samuel L. Jackson the spotlight after 15 years of sharing the screen with the Avengers. At the end of the first season, Nick Fury went back into space with S.A.B.E.R., alongside his Skrull wife, to help negotiate peace between the Kree and Skrulls. This means that, again, Fury’s largest on-screen role in the movies will be alongside Brie Larson’s Captain Marvel.
The Marvels arrives later in 2023 and will again pit Captain Marvel against the Kree Empire, this time as Dar-Benn (played by Zawe Ashton) is out for revenge against the Cosmic Avenger. How Nick Fury is involved is unknown, but the S.A.B.E.R. space station may be a featured location of the space-based film.
Will The James Rhodes Bombshell Pay Off?
The biggest revelation of Secret Invasion was the reveal that James Rhodes has been a Skrull ever since the events of Captain America: Civil War. This means that the Rhodes crying at Tony Stark’s funeral in Endgame was an alien imposter. The fallout from the revelation won’t take place in Season 2. Instead, it’ll be the basis for Armor Wars, the War Machine solo film.
Originally a Disney+ series, Armor Wars was updated to become a feature film, but everything about the project is shrouded in secrecy. It’s unknown if Armor Wars will even happen, with no release date, director, or even hints on which characters are involved. At the moment, it’s only slightly more likely to air than Secret Invasion Season 2.
