While the Skrulls have been a significant part of Marvel Comics history since the early 1960s, one of their most notable arcs in the canon played out within the last 15 years. An event orchestrated by Brian Michael Bendis, Secret Invasion saw alarm bells ring all around the Marvel Universe as fans found themselves questioning whether it was possible that their favorite heroes had been replaced by shapeshifting imposters.
Now with the Skrulls making their Marvel Cinematic Universe debut in Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck's Captain Marvel, there has been incessant speculation about the possibility of a Secret Invasion adaptation -- and while nothing is on the books right now, Marvel Studios producer Jonathan Schwartz has confirmed that behind-the-scenes conversations have been happening:
Yes we talked about Secret Invasion. I wouldn't go into this movie saying 'Which one of these superheroes is a Skrull?' because Carol's is more or less the first superhero to show up on Earth. But are we planting seeds for future movies? Always.
So get ready for paranoia, folks! Once the Skrulls enter the picture, basically every character transforms into a suspicious figure with questionable motives.
Jonathan Schwartz made these comments last year during a press day on the set of Captain Marvel -- fielding questions from reporters at the start of the day to offer baseline information about the upcoming blockbuster. During a discussion about the Skrulls, the producer was specifically asked about the potential of seeing Secret Invasion on the big screen someday, and while he most certainly didn't confirm that it's going to happen, he also definitely didn't take it off the table as a possibility.
Beginning in earnest during the spring of 2008, Secret Invasion basically jumpstarted when the Skrull homeworld was destroyed during the 2007 Marvel Cosmic event Annihilation. The shapeshifting aliens made a plan to colonize Earth as a replacement, and their method for takeover was replacing key individuals with Skrulls in disguise. Much like every other Marvel Comics arc that has made its way to the big screen, any adaptation wouldn't have to follow the source material beat-for-beat, but there is definitely a core concept in there that could make for excellent cinema.
What only makes this idea more enticing is the way in which the Skrulls are being introduced to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. While it would have been just fine to see the aliens clash with Earth for the first time in a modern setting, Captain Marvel is making it so that the Skrulls are aware of our planet all the way back in the 1990s. This means that if a big screen Secret Invasion is hatched, there will exist the potential to tie things back into the canon as far as 30 years into the past -- which is pretty awesome for continuity nerds.
It's noteworthy that this is also exactly the right time for discussions about Secret Invasion to go down. Marvel Studios has spent the last 10 years orchestrating things to lead towards Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, and it's not clear what they have planned for the future when it comes to crossover stories. An insane battle against the Skrulls might be the perfect choice.
It's entirely possible that the end of Captain Marvel will tease some kind of persistent Skrull presence on Earth that will inspire all kinds of paranoia -- but we won't know if that's true until we actually see the film. Thankfully, the wait for it is almost over, as the blockbuster is just a few months away, set to arrive on March 8th. Be on the lookout for a whole lot more of our coverage during that stretch, including more from our time on the set!
