Nick Fury has been a reassuring constant throughout the 15-year lifespan of the MCU going all the way back to 2008’s Iron Man, where he invited Tony Stark to discuss the ‘Avengers Initiative’ in the series’ first post- credits scene. But despite being present at almost every inflection point in the all-conquering comic-book ’verse’s history, Samuel L. Jackson’s uber-cool, monocular mastermind has never been at the centre of his own story – until now.
‘It had always been talked about, but never really happened,’ says Secret Invasion producer, and Marvel Studios Parliament member, Jonathan Schwartz. ‘We really liked the idea of a more grounded espionage thriller. That felt like the right home for Nick. That’s the way things crystallise sometimes in the MCU. You talk about something for a long time, and then the right idea or the right medium or the right genre just catalyses it, and makes it real.’
A loose adaptation of the 2008 comic arc, which revealed that many of Earth’s mightiest heroes had secretly been replaced by bodysnatching Skrulls, Secret Invasion puts a fresh spin on the story by (mostly) jettisoning superfolk and adding a dash of Le Carré to the mix. ‘The first conversations I had [with Marvel] were, “Nobody flies in the air in the show,”’ says Ali Selim, who directs all six episodes. ‘I realised, “Yeah, they’re doing something very different, and that’s exciting.”’
This story is from the June 2023 edition of Total Film.
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This story is from the June 2023 edition of Total Film.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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