A new Secret Invasion Disney+ spot may have teased a possible appearance by a major Agents of SHIELD character.
Secret Invasion has a stellar cast, but many are expecting that the Disney+ series will be filled with cameos after Marvel Studios described it as the MCU's "crossover event" on the small screen.
One of the highly-talked-about potential cameos in Secret Invasion is the possible inclusion of Agents of SHIELD characters.
While Chloe Bennet, who played Daisy Johnson in ABC's Marvel series, recently debunked rumors of her being involved in the MCU series, there is still non-ending speculation about Agent Coulson's team being incorporated into the post-Avengers: Endgame timeline.
New Secret Invasion Might've Teased Agents of SHIELD's Melinda May
A brief Secret Invasion clip from Disney+ UK, via @MCU_Covered, included footage of Samuel L. Jackson's Nick Fury with the former SHIELD director saying through a voiceover, "Cavalry's on the way:"
This brief clip led to speculation that Fury refers to Agents of SHIELD's Melinda May (Ming Na-Wen), whose nickname is the Cavalry in the ABC series.
Why is Melinda May Called the Cavalry?
In the series, Melinda May is often referred to as the "Cavalry" due to a crucial SHIELD mission in the past.
In a Season 2 flashback to 2008, a team of SHIELD agents led by May and Phil Coulson was sent to investigate a super-powered individual, Eva Belyakov, in Bahrain. The mission saw Belyakov taking a young civilian girl and the SHIELD team (without May and Coulson) inside a warehouse alongside Bahrainian gangsters that she seemed to be controlling.
However, it was revealed that the enhanced is a young civilian girl, Katya, with mind control powers. After May eliminated Belyakov and the gangsters, Katya tried to control the veteran SHIELD agent, but she told her everything would be okay. Ultimately, May was left with no choice but to eliminate the kid.
This specific mission scarred May mentally, with only a few agents (Coulson included) knowing the truth behind the girl's death.
However, her fellow SHIELD agents gave her the nickname "The Cavalry" since the only detail that made the rounds in the organization was that she took on several adversaries at once.
Will the Agents of SHIELD Star Appear in Secret Invasion?
As Tony Stark once said in The Avengers, Nick Fury's secrets have secrets, and one could be Melinda May.
While the debate continues whether or not Agents of SHIELD is canon to the MCU, Charlie Cox's appearance as Daredevil in She-Hulk: Attorney at Law proved that past characters from adjacent Marvel series could be incorporated into the wider universe.
Fury's mention of a Cavalry in the latest Secret Invasion promo might've not been coincidental, considering that he needs backup now that the Skrulls have infiltrated Earth.
Using May as a backup makes sense, mainly because she could be one of Fury's agents hiding for such a moment as this one (and Fury is always known to have a backup plan).
Interestingly, the Marvel series already established that Fury and May have a secret connection, with the SHIELD director assigning the Cavalry to secretly assemble Coulson's team.
It's also possible that May is not alone when Fury calls him in, opening the doors for other Agents of SHIELD mainstays (Coulson, Daisy Johnson, Fitz & Simmons, etc.) to appear in Secret Invasion. In fact, Elizabeth Henstridge, who portrays Jemma Simmons in the ABC series, recently emphasized she's "open to reprising the role" down the line.
The involvement of Agents of SHIELD characters in Secret Invasion could further prove that the show is indeed a crossover event.
Secret Invasion is expected to premiere on Disney+ this Spring.
