Following a year of successful Disney+ series, Marvel fans are ready for more MCU Phase 4 stories on the streaming service beginning March 30 with Oscar Issac's Moon Knight. While the release dates for the rest of Marvel's 2022 slate have yet to be confirmed, Ms. Marvel, She-Hulk, and I Am Groot are also set to premiere this year, but it's possible that an additional show may debut sooner rather than later - Samuel L. Jackson's Secret Invasion.
Inspired by the Marvel Comics event of the same name, Secret Invasion stars Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury and Ben Mendelsohn as Talos; and while its confirmed that Skrull sleeper agents are in store, fans know little else about the upcoming series apart from its ever-expanding cast.
In addition to Jackson and Mendelsohn, Secret Invasion also stars Cobie Smulders as Maria Hill along with Olivia Coleman and Emilia Clarke in undisclosed roles.
Despite the secrecy, the fact the show is currently filming has provided fans a few hints at what to expect from the upcoming series, including one of its locations.
Secret Invasion Set Video Shows Russian Celebration
Twitter user @SInvasionNews posted photos and video of a Secret Invasion set located at Halifax Piece Hall in West Yorkshire, England, where Russian banners are displayed that read "National Unity Day."
In another tweet, @SInvasionNews shared the following message:
"Seems that they seem to be shooting some huge scene of gathering of a huge event with Russians flags and signs hung around to celebrate “National Unity Day.”
Russia was most recently featured as a location in 2021's Black Widow starring Scarlet Johannson and Florence Pugh's Yelena Belova. Why Russia and its "National Unity Day" celebration will be featured in Secret Invasion, however, remains unknown.
Still, it's worth noting that the event is an actual, real-world affair. Russia holds a national celebration known as "Unity Day" each year on November 4.
@SInvasionNews also shared a video of the set in front of Halifax's Piece Hall, which will reportedly be shut down for filming between Monday, January 24 and Monday, January 31.
Is Secret Invasion the MCU's Cold War?
The MCU has been laying the groundwork for this series for some time. Captain Marvel not only introduced audiences to Skrulls and the character of Talos but also the Skrulls' connection to Nick Fury.
This was followed by Spider-Man: Far From Home, where Fury and Maria Hill turned out to be the Skrulls Talos and Soren the whole time while the actual Nick Fury was in space. Spider-Man: No Way Home then continued this narrative in informing Tom Holland's Peter Parker that Fury has been "off-world" for the previous year.
Therefore, it will be interesting to see how these various story threads come together and whether the series will play into the upcoming Captain Marvel sequel - The Marvels.
As to why Russia and their national celebration have a role in Secret Invasion, the possibilities are seemingly endless. One potential scenario is that certain Russian officials are actually Skrulls and might be playing a role in world affairs post-Blip.
After all, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier established that nations around the world are struggling with the return of half the world's population following Iron Man's Endgame snap. Perhaps Skrull infiltration is part of Fury's new plan?
Also, it's hard to ignore the fact that spies are often associated with Russia. After all, young Natasha Romanoff and her Black Widow "family" were Russian spies living in Ohio.
In fact, the paranoia surrounding Secret Invasion of not knowing who's a Skrull actually parallels the Cold War - a time where Americans were paranoid over who among them were Russian spies. Perhaps this is the reason for the Russian location and event?
While much of the show's appeal has to do with who in the MCU has been a Skrull agent all along, it will be fascinating to see how the events of this anticipated series will affect the MCU going forward and how we come to see projects and characters in retrospect.
Secret Invasion is currently filming and expected to premiere on Disney+ in 2022.
