“I’m pleasantly relieved.”

By Morgan Cormack

Published: Saturday, 29 July 2023 at 12:02 PM


With the final dramatic episode of Secret Invasion now available to watch, many fans will undoubtedly have to pause for breath after what has been a series jam-packed with twists and turns.

There were surprises in store throughout all six episodes, not least because of the shock deaths that have bookended the series. While fans were certainly in shock after episode 1 opened with MCU legend Maria Hill‘s (Cobie Smulders) death, the series also wrapped up with the death of Talos (Ben Mendelsohn).

Speaking exclusively to RadioTimes.com, director Ali Selim said he doesn’t make the call on who lives and dies.

“It’s not my decision, I don’t make decisions for the MCU,” he explained. Kevin [Feige] is the mastermind at moving the spiderweb of this universe forward and I understand his reasoning.

“And my job is to make it as emotional and truthful and effective as it can possibly be within the confines of this six-episode series.”

Cobie Smulders as Maria Hill and Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury in Secret Invasion
Cobie Smulders as Maria Hill and Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury in Secret Invasion.
Des Willie/Marvel

Selim went on to acknowledge the shock surrounding the deaths of both Hill and Talos, saying: “They were big deaths. I’ll be honest with you, I kind of expected to receive death threats of my own when people found out I killed Maria Hill. I haven’t yet, so I’m pleasantly relieved.”

He added: “I will miss [Talos] deeply because I think [Ben Mendelsohn] is one of our greatest actors and I would love to work with him again, so we’ll have to find another way to do it that’s not Talos because I don’t think he’s coming back.”

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While Marvel is yet to confirm whether or not season 2 of Secret Invasion is on the cards, the final episode of season 1 ended with yet more revelations, including Rhodey (Don Cheadle) being a Skrull since Captain America: Civil War.

Talking to RadioTimes.com about the startling revelation, Selim said: “Yep. He’s been a Skrull the whole time.”

He went on to say that this will have “massive implications” for the MCU.

Additional reporting by Louise Griffin.