The newest director in the MCU revealed that Marvel Studios warned him against reading issues of Marvel Comics relevant to his work.
Marvel Studios is no stranger to taking inspiration from some of the biggest stories in Marvel Comics history, which includes the highly-touted Civil War run for Captain America: Civil War and the vaulted Infinity Gauntlet saga for Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame.
Phase 5 of the MCU looks to continue down this route for the vast majority of its movies and Disney+ shows as well, bringing titles to the forefront for characters like Ms. Marvel, Daredevil, and the Young Avengers.
MCU Director Told to Avoid Marvel Comics
Speaking with Screen Rant, Secret Invasion director Ali Selim revealed why he was told not to read anything from Marvel Comics before his work on the new Disney+ series.
When he signed on for the job, he noted that the first note he got was "don't read the comics," with Marvel telling him that the comics "had nothing to do" with the story that Marvel Studios looked to tell in this series:
"When I took on this job as director, I didn't write the script. So a lot of those decisions were made by Kyle Bradstreet and the other team of writers that we had. The first thing I was told is don't read the comics. It had nothing to do with what we're trying to do here."
Instead, the MCU looked to focus on the bonds built between Samuel L. Jackson and Ben Mendelsohn during their screentime together in Captain Marvel, which would "serve that relationship" and push the MCU's boundaries:
"This story was really born out of the electricity created between Sam Jackson and Ben Mendelsohn or Nick Fury and Talos in 'Captain Marvel.' And they said, 'Oh, we got to do something with that.' So they found a story that would serve that relationship and would expand the MCU and other characters who are not in the comic books. I think it's a story unto itself."
This isn't the first time that comments like this have been made about the MCU, as Marvel Studios VP of Production & Development Nate Moore noted that writers who already love Marvel Comics are "always a red flag" for him in the hiring process.
How Will Secret Invasion Show Differ from Comics?
In the same way that Captain America: Civil War had to tone down some of the story beats from the comics, Secret Invasion will likely have to do something similar in its small-screen adaptation.
The biggest difference here will likely be the absence of any huge Avengers cameos, as the Secret Invasion story from the comics featured some of the biggest names from the Marvel brand being revealed as secret Skrulls.
This was also revealed to have been years in the making in the Marvel universe, and while the Skrulls have certainly been a part of the MCU for decades, it will take some time for Secret Invasion to show how deep their influence goes.
Even with how much the MCU takes inspiration from Marvel Comics, the franchise continues to build its own unique story that does something different with new and unique characters and storylines that sometimes haven't been seen before.
And while the core ideas of the Secret Invasion comic storyline will still be intact, Marvel Studios is sure to throw its own flair into the adventure to make it something that all fans can enjoy.
Secret Invasion's first episode will begin streaming on Disney+ on Wednesday, June 21.
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