Credit: Marvel StudiosMarvel’s Secret Invasion, the studio’s latest addition to the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the recent entry into its Disney+ portfolio, is nearing the end of its first season. But for one star, they will soon be replaced by a Hollywood A-lister in future projects. Here’s what they had to say about being replaced in the franchise.
Related: Disney+ Sends Out Warning Amid ‘Secret Invasion’s Plummeting Ratings
Following WandaVision, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Loki, What If…?, Hawkeye, Moon Knight, Ms. Marvel, and She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, Secret Invasion is the latest outing for Marvel television. It follows Nick Fury’s (Samuel L. Jackson) return to Earth to help stop a huge Skrull threat and is inspired by the Marvel Comics storyline of the same name.
Joining forces with the Skrull Talos (Ben Mendelsohn) and Maria Hill (Cobie Smulders), Fury sets out to defeat Gravik’s (Kingsley Ben-Adir) rebellion and terrorist plot against humankind. What he finds, though, is a crumbling political system and a threat far bigger than what he first thought — an imminent Skrull invasion. Emilia Clarke, Olivia Colman, Don Cheadle, and Martin Freeman also star as Talos’s daughter G’iah, MI6 operative Sonya Falsworth, James Rhodes, AKA War Machine, and Everett K. Ross, respectively.
Secret Invasion was backed by a lot of hype and anticipation and reportedly a huge budget, but has failed to land with audiences and critics. Opening with a Rotten Tomatoes score lower than the controversial She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, Kyle Bradstreet and director Ali Selim’s espionage thriller’s lukewarm reception is a bad sign for Marvel Studios. Disney+ as a whole has been struggling, and Secret Invasion‘s mediocre response is the next nail in the coffin. That said, even with content purges and potential sales, fans still have Loki Season 2 and Echo to look forward to later this year.
Ever since Spider-Man: No Way Home‘s (2021) smash hit success, Kevin Feige’s MCU has been on a somewhat downward spiral. The biggest blow to the franchise was dealt in February this year when Peyton Reed’s Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023) massively flopped at the box office. Following the positive response and decent takings of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023), all eyes will next be on Brie Larson’s return as Carol Danvers, AKA Captain Marvel in Nia DaCosta’s The Marvels (2023) this November.
Actor Replaced in Marvel’s Secret Invasion
Secret Invasion is largely a Captain Marvel franchise spinoff, so chances are the penultimate and finale episodes of the six-part series will tie into the even greater, cosmic-powered threat that Carol, Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris), and Kamala Khan (Iman Vellani) will face in the next MCU movie. It may also connect to another upcoming Phase Five Marvel film — Captain America 4.
Captain America: Brave New World (2023) (formerly Captain America: New World Order) is slated to release next year as part of Marvel’s fifth Phase. The movie includes Anthony Mackie as Sam Wilson, AKA Captain America, where the former Falcon will be joined by Danny Ramirez as Joaquin Torres (the new Falcon), Liv Tyler as Betty Ross, and Hollywood icon Harrison Ford as Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross, former U.S. Army General and the President of the United States.
The only problem? There is already a President of the United States in Secret Invasion. Dermot Mulroney stars as President Ritson in the Disney+ show, and with Ford’s casting already confirmed and a Red Hulk connection already rumored, chances are Mulroney is about to be replaced full-time. The Friends star spoke out about being replaced in the MCU:
“No, I don’t know what anybody’s intent is, but I couldn’t ask for more. I’m so fulfilled and thrilled to have been in Secret Invasion. I have no concept of whether Ritson survives or lives on or continues in the storyline,” Mulroney told Comic Book Movie. “It would be a thrill, of course, but if I have to lose the next election to one American, and it has to be Harrison Ford, I guess that’s fair enough. That’s okay. There’s nothing about two terms…I can be his Vice President! I can have two terms of Vice President under President Harrison Ford.”
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It is interesting that Mulroney doesn’t know what becomes of his character, considering Marvel is just two episodes out from wrapping up the series. The story of how the leader of the United States changes from Ritson to Ross may be told between now and Brave New World — or it may just be something that gets swept under the carpet.
Ford is already replacing someone but for far sadder reasons. Last year, William Hurt, who had played Thaddeus Ross in the MCU since The Incredible Hulk (2008), passed away from terminal prostate cancer a week before his 72nd birthday.
How do you think the MCU will handle this replacement of roles in Marvel’s Secret Invasion? Let Inside the Magic know in the comments down below!