Secret Invasion Director Discusses Positioning Nick Fury for The Marvels

Secret Invasion director Ali Selim provides insights into the process of setting up Nick Fury's role in The Marvels, the upcoming Disney+ series.

Warning: The following contains spoilers for Secret Invasion Episode 2, "Promises," streaming now on Disney+.

In a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Selim shed light on how the Disney+ miniseries sets the stage for Nick Fury's (portrayed by Samuel L. Jackson) next big-screen adventure in The Marvels.

According to Selim, the conversations with The Marvels' creative team about incorporating Fury are not overly complex. He explained, "They're not protracted conversations. It's just simply, 'Where do you need [Fury]? You need him here? Great.' And then we write into that. So that kind of stuff is very simple because it's all above my pay grade." The Marvels is scheduled to premiere on November 10, 2023, and serves as a sequel to both Captain Marvel and Ms. Marvel, with Fury also appearing in the former.

Selim's approach to Fury's journey aligns with how he approached aspects of the character's backstory in Secret Invasion. The director mentioned in a recent interview that Samuel L. Jackson drew on his own life experiences for a scene in Secret Invasion Episode 2, titled "Promises," where Fury shares a childhood memory with Talos (played by Ben Mendelsohn). Selim stated, "It wasn't on the page. It was [Jackson] telling us a story. He's very connected to Nick Fury in a way that no writer ever could be."

Secret Invasion Director Talks Nick Fury's Wife

Selim played a more active role in shaping certain aspects of Fury's history in Secret Invasion. One significant development was his collaboration with the miniseries' editors on the scene in "Promises" that introduces Priscilla Fury, Nick's previously undisclosed wife. This scene reveals that Priscilla is a Skrull, but it remains ambiguous whether Nick himself is aware of this information. Selim explained, "In the script, he knows. And when we shot it, it was interesting that maybe he didn't know. We ultimately edited it in a way that made people feel like, 'I wonder if he knows or not.'"

The twist involving Priscilla Fury in Secret Invasion Episode 2 deviates from the original comic book series of the same name by Brian Michael Bendis and Leinil Francis Yu. However, Selim confirmed that he is familiar with the comics, despite Marvel Studios' initial request for him to avoid the source material of the Disney+ show. He stated that he likes "to stay informed." New episodes of Secret Invasion are released on Disney+ on Wednesdays.

Via THR