Following the conclusion of Secret Invasion on Disney+, the MCU director shared his own thoughts about the series' poor reviews.
From the outset, Secret Invasion had the makings of a homerun thanks to its fascinating premise and an all-star cast.
Unfortunately, the six-episode season which centered on Samuel L. Jackson's Nick Fury and helmed by director Ali Selim left audiences both befuddled and disappointed, a fact well-illustrated by the finale's record-low Rotten Tomatoes score.
Marvel Director Reacts to Secret Invasion Reviews
When asked by Variety about Secret Invasion's rather lackluster reception, director Ali Selim confessed, "Oh, I don't read reviews:"
"Oh, I don’t read reviews. With all due respect. For me, I view all the storytelling work I do as a dialogue with an audience. When the show is finished and put up on the screen, that’s my half of the dialogue. And the audience then starts their half of the response to it. I think that’s valuable, but I don’t know. I don’t know how to answer the question."
Best known for his work on Criminal Minds and The Looming Tower, Selim explained why he doesn't "feel bad about mixed reviews," in addition to his take on the Marvel fan base's "expectations:"
"I don’t feel bad about mixed reviews. If you had unanimously good reviews, every movie would gross $10 billion, trillion dollars, right? [Projects] resonate with different people at different times for different reasons, and Marvel has a very devoted — even rabid — fan base who have expectations and when their expectations aren’t fulfilled, they move in the other direction; they give it a thumbs down."
In addition to not reading reviews or feeling bad about them, perhaps the most surprising comment from the Secret Invasion director was his admitting that "I feel great about the response" to the series:
"I don’t know — is it our job to fulfill their expectations? Or to tell the story that we’re telling? So, it’s a tricky thing. I would love it if everybody loved it, but I also don’t have that expectation myself, so I feel great about the response to it."
How Does Marvel Studios Feel About Secret Invasion?
Is it tough to believe that Ali Selim truly does "feel great about the response" to Secret Invasion? Absolutely.
However, the director did initially confess that he didn't "know how to answer the question."
The better answer - and possibly what he meant to say - is that he feels great about what he personally achieved in the series. And, if reports are to be believed, perhaps in spite of Marvel Studios' internal problems.
Who MCU fans truly want to hear from are Marvel Studios executives and whether they too are unbothered by negative reviews.
While common sense suggests they would just be as frustrated as audiences, continuing to release subpar movies and series that undermine the MCU brand says otherwise.
Hopefully, Disney's new directive of fewer Disney+ shows will allow Marvel Studios to return to form and stop its own invasion of forgettable storytelling posing as the MCU.
All episodes of Secret Invasion are streaming now on Disney+.
