Secret Invasion Finally Has A Firm Release Date
After over six months of internal delays, Secret Invasion will debut on June 21 on Disney+.
Marvel will take over the small screen on June 21, 2023, with Secret Invasion. We previously reported that the Disney+ series had been pushed from its slated May release to June, and Comic Book Resources broke the news that an official date has finally been set.
Secret Invasion is just one of the many Marvel projects to experience delays. The studio has not yet released a reason for the push, but season two of Loki and the upcoming return of Brie Larson in The Marvels are also expected to be postponed. Speculation that turmoil following the departure of longtime Marvel executive Victoria Alonso may be a factor in the delays.
The termination of Alonso, who was a critical player in overseeing visual effects in all of Marvel’s projects, has incited a lawsuit against Disney and a reported divide among the company’s employees. Rumors have also surfaced that the tumult could be the breaking point for many overworked VFX artists who are looking to leave Marvel behind.
The visual effects crisis at Marvel is a story that has long been unfolding. Fans have noticed degrading quality on the screen, deriding CG characters like She-Hulk and MODOK, but behind the scenes, industry anecdotes have revealed brutal deadlines and workloads that have left visual effects artists on Marvel films exhausted, underpaid, and unhappy.
It is unclear how significant the impact of Alonso’s exit is or how the ripple effects of her departure will affect Marvel Studios projects down the line. Production on Secret Invasion wrapped nearly a year ago; the six-episode series was almost finished with post-production when Alonso parted ways with Marvel.
Other factors contributing to Marvel’s Secret Invasion delay could be franchise fatigue and corporate restructuring. Studios (especially streamers) are in cost-cutting mode, and Disney is no exception. The company has been slashing budgets since CEO Bob Iger was reinstated as the House of Mouse head last fall.
As Disney strategizes how to make Disney+ profitable, the Marvel TV show slate must be examined. The movie-quality shows add even more hours of content to the studio’s production workload, bringing sizable budgets along with them. Now the studio must face the possibility that shows like Secret Invasion are doing more harm than good.
Marvel has been a consistent money maker for 15 years, but burnout is setting in among one of the world’s largest and most loyal fanbases. That burnout finally showed up at the box office for Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, which, after a successful opening weekend, earned Marvel its biggest second week drop off in the studio’s history.
Bleeding cash and burning out fans are two big reasons for Marvel to pump the brakes on its release schedule. The studio already has numerous projects on its slate, but the late delay of Secret Invasion could be an early sign of impromptu adaptation.
Despite the uncertainty facing Marvel Studios, Secret Invasion is on its way, and it is shaping up to be an exciting entry for the franchise. The show brings back Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury to investigate the worldwide infiltration of the shape-shifting alien race called Skrulls, which were first introduced to the MCU in 2019’s Captain Marvel. Joining Jackson are Marvel newcomers Emilia Clarke and Olivia Colman, along with franchise familiars Cobie Smulders, Martin Freeman, and Ben Mendelsohn.
