One of the best dynamic duos in the Marvel Cinematic Universe is back in action, with Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) teaming up with Talos (Ben Mendelsohn) once again to uncover a conspiracy that could compromise life on Earth as we know it. Secret Invasion is about a dangerous group of Skrulls, aliens with the ability of shape-shifting into any person they’d like, trying to infiltrate positions of power from all over the world in order to start a major war. If Fury and Talos don’t interfere with the situation soon, it won’t be long before humans are no longer Earth’s representatives. Given the nature of the situation, they don’t know who they can trust.
While Fury has been handling disaster after disaster ever since Iron Man kicked off the franchise back in 2008, Talos was introduced in Captain Marvel, the same movie where movie audiences were introduced to the Skrulls. Secret Invasion marks a reunion for Mendelsohn and Jackson, who enjoy working together as much as their characters do. During a recent interview with Collider’s own Perri Nemiroff, Ben Mendelsohn had a lot of praise for Samuel L. Jackson, establishing respect and admiration that go back to the early days of the actor’s career. Here’s what Ben Mendelsohn had to say about Samuel L. Jackson:
Sam is just like one of the coolest humans that ever got on a screen. Sam is someone that, if you saw Jungle Fever, if you caught him back then and you understand, and you saw him in Jurassic Park, then you understand that this guy has ended up becoming the box office winner of the entire human race and it’s unlikely, as things stand, that that will ever be broken. This man is a man of such achievements. The great thing about working with Sam is, every now and then, you just see these slightly different versions of him, and it’s just really special.
That’s one of the best things about the job, full stop. You get to go to work and go, “Oh, look who’s there, look who’s there!” And you also get to complain all day if you’d like and you still get paid the same money. [Laughs] But to be able to do that and to just be around and to have a relationship where we talk a bit of rubbish together and whatnot, but Sam makes you better. Sam makes you better because you are acting across one of the most important people, in terms of screen acting, of our time. You don’t pass that sort of stuff up lightly, and you don’t half-step if you can avoid it.
Given the espionage thriller nature of the limited series, some of Fury’s allies resurface when they start to realize what’s happening. Cobie Smulders returns as Maria Hill, a character that was very present during the earlier phases of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Since S.H.I.E.L.D. is no longer an institution, Hill has been working for the government ever since it was revealed that H.Y.D.R.A. was behind the security organization in Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Fury is going to need all the help he can get to defeat the evil Skrulls that plan to conquer the planet.
The Villains of Secret Invasion
Kingsley Ben-Adir plays a new kind of antagonist in the upcoming show, leaving the heroes running against a ticking clock because they realized he was on the move when the plan was already in motion. Gravik has a personal reason for disliking Nick Fury, and after he stopped believing in Talos’ promises, the young Skrull knew it was time to take matters into his own hands. He will be backed by G’iah (Emilia Clarke), a resourceful agent who is clearly more intelligent than the people that surround her. Not even the Avengers could save Fury this time.
You can check out the full interview below: