Secret Invasion Director Details Espionage Inspirations for Disney+ MCU Show

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Secret Invasion Director Details Espionage Inspirations for Disney+ MCU Show

Secret Invasion, the upcoming Marvel Cinematic Universe Disney+ series, features more espionage than Marvel movies are typically known for. Director Ali Selim spoke about what pieces of media inspired Secret Invasion’s genre.

What were Secret Invasion’s espionage Inspirations?

While speaking to Empire, Selim noted that movies like The Third Man and The Searchers served as inspiration for the unique tone of Secret Invasion.

“We talked a lot about classic espionage noir, like The Third Man,” Selim revealed. “As Nick [Fury] moves through it, he walks out of a noir and into a Western. He becomes the lone gunslinger walking down Main Street looking for bad guys to vanquish. We go from The Third Man to John Wayne in The Searchers, and Sam walks effortlessly from one into the next.”

The director also elaborated on how real world themes inspired some of Secret Invasion’s characters.

“Who is a terrorist and why are they a terrorist? Especially here in the States, it’s easy to say we’re the good guys and they’re the terrorists,” he said. “The interesting thing for me is to ask: how did we as a nation state influence the environment these people come from? Gravik [Kingsley Ben-Adir] is not just a bad guy with a bomb. His story and how he came to this grievance is clearly explored here. That doesn’t just refer back to movie history and noir; it refers to our times today.”

Secret Invasion is based on Brian Michael Bendis, Leinil Francis Yu, Mark Morales, and Laura Martin’s comic book series and is led by MCU mainstay Samuel L. Jackson, who is reprising his role as Nick Fury. He will be teaming up with Captain Marvel‘s Ben Mendelsohn, who is returning as the pseudo-leader of the Skrulls, Talos.

Joining them are MCU newcomers Kingsley Ben-Adir as the antagonist Gravik, Oscar winner Olivia Colman as MI6 agent Sonya Falsworth, Emilia Clarke as Talos’ now-adult daughter G’iah, Dermot Mulrone, Killian Scott, Christopher McDonald, and Carmen Ejogo. It will also feature MCU vets Cobie Smulders as Maria Hill, Martin Freeman as Everett K. Ross, and Don Cheadle as Rhodey.