As of last year, the Marvel Cinematic Universe was known for its massive films that have spawned an endlessly expanding, interweaving, connected universe. Having started in 2008, all 23 films so far—set to be 24 with Black Widow—have built something truly unique. Thanks to WandaVision, that world has expanded into the television and streaming sphere.
The world has seen both WandaVision and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier come and go—mostly to high critical and fan praise. Now, audiences are following Loki as the titular character takes on a different path and discovers the many variants of himself—a story potentially setting up the future conflict of the MCU.
Needless to say, the Disney+ shows have proven themselves important to the MCU. Of course, there's plenty more where that came from. Just this year alone, three more shows are planned for release: What If...?, Ms. Marvel, and Hawkeye.
There is one show in particular that not much is known about even though it has gotten plenty of casting announcements, with the likes of Emilia Clarke, Olivia Coleman, and Christopher McDonald all joining. Of course, that show is Secret Invasion.
While fans will have to wait for more information regarding the show, they can shift their attention to Christopher McDonald, who has now broken his silence since being cast in the MCU.
CHRISTOPHER MCDONALD TALKS SECRET INVASION ROLE
In an interview with The Movie Dweeb, Christopher McDonald was asked for the first time about his recent hiring for Marvel Studios’ Secret Invasion.
The first question was regarding how the phone call about the role went down? Funny enough, the call happened while McDonald was driving home. He remembered both his agent and Manager saying “you might want to pull over:”
"My agent and my manager got together and called me and said ‘Chris, are you sitting down?’ And I said ‘well, I’m in my car and I’m driving home...uh, yea.” He said ‘you might want to pull over.’ I said, ‘Woah, what’s happening?’ [they said] ‘No, it’s good. Pull over.’"
As for his reaction? McDonald reenacted a long, drawn-out “wow.” He said that the entire opportunity is “an actor’s dream:”
“… they tell me about this whole offer that comes in to join the MCU, and I’m like ‘wow.’ This is only something I’ve been praying for, because it is the, well, it’s the number one thing that comes out of Hollywood. Kevin Feige’s just killed it. And it’s a spectacular… 23 movies they’re in now, with the television series [as well]… WandaVision, and Loki... it’s just... it’s an actor’s dream.”
So, of course, McDonald was thrilled to do it. In fact, he's set to start work on the show soon. According to the actor, “[in] a month and a half’s time, I’ll be there doing it:”
“So, I'm'a come to London and make this thing and make this thing happen... in a months time, I think? A month and a half’s time, I’ll be there doing it.”
As for whether McDonald could say anything at all about his role on the show, he claimed he "know[s] nothing:"
"I know nothing. I can say nothing cause I signed an NDA, so there’s nothing... other than the fact it’s called Secret Invasion… [Mcdonald’s character] He’s alive. A living…[jokingly] I can’t go too far into it.”
It's always important to ask incoming MCU actors one very important question: are they a Marvel Comics fan, or is this world new to them. Do they have a lot of research ahead of them?
McDonald came out of the gate with the truth: “I started out a love in DC…” On top of that, he admitted that he’s “into Archie comics:”
“It’s a bit of both. I started out a love in DC also, if that’s a bad word in the Marvel world cause it’s such a competitive thing, but I’m a man of a certain age. I’m into Archie comics. I was, you know, looking for love. That Betty, she was something else…”
As for Marvel? Well, McDonald “was a fan” of them as well but said that he’s still “studying it now:”
“But I do...I’m studying it now, but at the same time, I was a fan. I didn’t collect them so much, but friends had them, but I would blow through them and go ‘this is really intense.’ Love the artwork, love the big message, which is also quite uplifting, especially now.”
He continued praising what Marvel Studios has currently been doing, claiming that Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige is “doing a heck of a job:”
"They’re taking a little bit more chances with them, with Kevin again is the man at the helm on that, doing a heck of a job. It’s all a big question mark right now. I can’t wait to come to London."
Secret Invasion has one hell of a cast. Is there anybody that McDonald would want to work with the most? Well, he was quick to reveal that he will “be doing a lot of stuff with Samuel [Nick Fury]," but that the cast member he’d want to work with the most would be Olivia Coleman.
He wasn’t shy to shower Coleman with praise, saying that “she’s beautiful, brilliant, connected, and in the moment:”
“I know I’ll be doing a lot of stuff with Samuel, but I would love to work with Olivia Coleman cause, I mean… she’s just so much fun… she’s beautiful, brilliant, connected, and in the moment… I think that’s a lot of fun to work like, I like to work like that as well… [and] of course, Ms. Clarke would be amazing. Sam’s going to be amazing.
All in all, McDonald not only seems excited about starting his work on Secret Invasion but also extremely honored, concluding that he is “an extremely grateful man:”
"The whole thing is just kind of unbelievably fortuitous, and I’m an extremely grateful man because they invited me to play.”
SECRETS OF MARVEL STUDIOS' SECRET INVASION
It is intriguing how little is known about this show. While an immediate thought process is to go look at the comics to see what may happen, the show aims to be a completely different adaptation of the story. Ideas and themes will be kept, but with the scale and context that the comic storyline had, there's no way it will be able to do everything that has been done there.
Back in the original casting announcement for Christopher McDonald, it was noted that he may have been cast as an entirely original character for the MCU, one that could potentially cross into other properties and stories down the lines. While interesting for sure, it still provides no context or clues as to what fans can expect from Secret Invasion.
With filming set to begin so soon, hopefully, there will be more word on the story or character details. At the very least, fans now know that McDonald will spend a lot of time with Samuel L. Jackson's Nick Fury—though, of course, that doesn't provide any clues whether McDonald is playing a human or a Skrull, a question that is likely to be asked consistently when it comes to discussing the show.
Fans are sure to be feeling the show's paranoia already, far ahead of its 2022 debut.
