Warning: This article contains SPOILERS for Secret Invasion
Summary
- Secret Invasion's explosive reveals set up big changes for the Marvel franchise, but a second season seems unlikely.
- The first season received underwhelming numbers and low ratings, making a renewal doubtful.
- While the initial story is resolved, the Skrull storyline escalates, leaving potential for a follow-up season or tie-ins with other MCU projects.
2023's post-credits scene for Avengers: Endgame.
Far from an actual ending to the story, Secret Invasion revealed that Skrulls had spent years planning to infiltrate Earth in positions of power, including replacing one of the Avengers, in a shocking twist. Reuniting Fury with old allies Maria Hill (Cobie Smulders), Everett K. Ross (Martin Freeman), and Skrull leader Talos (Ben Mendelsohn), Secret Invasion also introduced new characters like Talos’ daughter, G’iah (Emilia Clarke), to tackle Kingsley Ben-Adir's new supervillain, rebel Skrull leader Gravik. Despite the miniseries label, it isn't actually a self-contained story, and Secret Invasion's ending sets up more for the Skrulls. Here's everything we know about a possible Secret Invasion season 2.
Will Secret Invasion Season 2 Happen?
Most of the MCU’s TV shows so far have been treated as miniseries, meaning that they haven’t been renewed for second seasons, and Secret Invasion could still follow that path. If Marvel Studios base Secret Invasion season 2's chances on the critical and audience reaction to the first season, it's going to be bad news: the opening episode pulled in underwhelming numbers and Secret Invasion's Rotten Tomatoes score quickly became the MCU's lowest rated TV show. With Bob Iger very publicly revealing that Disney plan to pull back on Marvel content to focus more on better releases and avoid stretching creative teams and audience attention too thinly, it feels unlikely Secret Invasion season 2 will happen.
That said, Secret Invasion's first six episodes singularly fail to resolve most of what the story was supposed to be about. Yes, the supervillain threat is dealt with by the end, but the Skrull story actually escalates setting up the need for a story follow-up, even if it doesn't come in Secret Invasion season 2. How Marvel plans to deliver on that set-up at the minute is a little unclear.
How Secret Invasion's Ending Sets Up Season 2 - All Key Articles To Read
Adapting the Marvel Comics Secret Invasion story in just six episodes always seemed unlikely, and the first 6 episodes avoided even trying. Instead, Secret Invasion is effectively the prologue to the real Secret Invasion story: Gravik's attempts to push Earth into World War III in order to wipe out humanity and claim the planet for the Skrulls end up uncovering the Skrulls and creating a panic among humanity. The ending effectively mirrors the fallout of Thor's "invasion" of New Mexico before The Avengers in 2012, which SHIELD and Nick Fury used as an excuse to develop project Phase 2's heavy weapons. Earth have now designated all aliens as enemies, and Skrulls will be hunted, leading to innocents killed as collateral damage.
That is the more interesting Secret Invasion story, which a second season could explore. It's also possible that these events and the Skrull hunt - which sees G'iah in her new Super-Skrull form leading the alien refugees, while working with Olivia Colman's Sonya Falsworth - will play a part in both Captain America: Brave New World and Thunderbolts. Harrison Ford's President Ross taking over President Ritson's war against aliens and using the Thunderbolts to hunt them makes a lot of sense after this set-up. As for Nick Fury, he skipped out on the final fight, abandoned the Skrulls again and went back to space with his hands over his ears. But hey, at least he got to kiss his wife.
Key Secret Invasion Articles To Read
- Secret Invasion Finale Recap: 8 Biggest Shocks & Twists
- The MCU Just Created The Most Over-Powered Hero Who Could Kill Every Avenger
- Every Marvel Character Confirmed In The Avengers DNA Serum
- 8 MCU Movies & TV Shows Set Up By Secret Invasion's Ending
Secret Invasion Season 2 Predicted Release Date
The MCU’s list of TV shows for the rest of Phase 5 and beyond is already packed, so it’s a bit difficult to predict a potential release date for Secret Invasion season 2. One of the most important factors to consider is how much Secret Invasion season 1 will actually affect the rest of the MCU, as that could define when season 2 would need to be released in order to connect to other movies and TV shows. If the story plays out in Brave New World and Thunderbolts, then season 2 is not essential. On the other hand, the team-up of Falsworth and G'iah - two of the most successful parts of the show - could see a follow-up season announced, even if it has a new name. Supposing it follows a similar model to Loki, the only MCU TV show to get a second season so far, Secret Invasion season 2 could be released in mid-to-late 2025, meaning it would be part of Phase 6.
Secret Invasion Season 2 Cast: Who Could Return?
Although the MCU is known for killing big characters, Secret Invasion wasn't Nick Fury’s final appearance - which we already knew since The Marvels marketing spoiled it before Secret Invasion even came out. Other MCU characters weren't quite as lucky, since Ben Mendelsohn's Talos and Cobie Smulders' Agent Maria Hill were both permanently killed. Kingsley Ben-Adir's Gravik also seemed to die (though there's still a question mark over how it was even possible, given his powers).
With that in mind, Secret Invasion season 2's cast could still include the following characters:
- Emilia Clarke - G'iah
- Olivia Colman - Sonya Falsworth
- Harrison Ford - President Ross (taking over from Dermot Mulroney's President Ritson)
There's also the possibility that both Martin Freeman's Agent Ross and Don Cheadle's James Rhodes could return to explore how and when they were replaced by Skrulls. Rhodey ittedly has Armor Wars to explore that fallout, but Agent Ross' MCU future is less certain. It seems ridiculous to think that the MCU would simply ignore telling the story in some way. If only there were still the One Shots to actually fill in these gaps. Or tie-in comics. Or literally anything that wasn't a $200m series that wouldn't justify itself.
Ironically, Nick Fury arguably doesn't need to return to Secret Invasion season 2 if it happens. The Skrull story has gone beyond him, for the most part: there's just the question of whether he will be held able for the Avengers DNA project, since the heroes involved are unlikely to be pleased to find he stole their DNA. However, Fury is rubber, and nothing at all seems to stick, so maybe the MCU will just quietly move on.
