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Fury, the mysterious, sometime boss of the all-powerful
Avengers, originally appeared on-screen way back in 2008's Iron Man — the movie
that launched the entire Marvel franchise that has come to dominate Hollywood.
But the new series "ranks number one, in terms of
things I've done in the Marvel Cinematic Universe," Jackson told a press
conference Wednesday. "It's a story about people doing people stuff,
without all those supers coming in to save you," he said, referring to
superheroes.
The series finds US spy chief Fury battling shapeshifting,
reptilian humanoids known as Skrulls — introduced in previous Marvel films —
who live among us, and are intent on fomenting war between Moscow and
Washington. Fury must also contend with British spook Sonya Falsworth, played
by Olivia Colman, who appears to relish her character's loose morality,
including at least one shocking torture scene.
"Sonya works for MI6. She likes wearing red, she's
quite funny and she's potentially a little bit not that nice sometimes,"
joked Colman, with plot details strictly under wraps. The presence of Colman, a
best actress Oscar-winner for 2018's The Favourite, alongside Jackson, who was
given an honorary Academy Award for his career last year, represents a casting
coup for Marvel.
They are joined by Game of Thrones star Emilia Clarke, as a
conflicted Skrull rebel, along with returning regulars such as Don Cheadle,
Martin Freeman, and Ben Mendelsohn.
'Very different'
But Secret Invasion arrives at an uncertain moment for
Marvel. Since the gargantuan success of Avengers: Endgame, which in 2019
briefly became the highest-grossing blockbuster of all time, parent company
Disney has churned out a whopping 18 new Marvel films and television shows.
It has not all gone to plan. Recent movies such as Eternals,
Thor: Love and Thunder, and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania have received the
franchise's worst-ever reviews.
A major new villain named Kang was introduced, played by
Jonathan Majors — only for the actor to be arrested and charged with assault
and harassment in March.
On Tuesday, Disney announced the release of Marvel films
including Avengers: The Kang Dynasty will be delayed by a year. And the
pipeline of new TV shows has slowed down too, with Secret Invasion marking the
first to premiere in nearly a year. Still, its director Ali Selim promised the
series will offer fans something fresh.
He cited espionage thrillers such as the Graham
Greene-penned The Third Man, and Francis Ford Coppola's The Conversation, as
inspirations.
"It's very different than people flying through the
air," he said.