Marvel Cancels Series Premiere Only Days After Revealing Release Date?
Marvel's Secret Invasion no longer has a release date on Disney+.
Marvel’s Secret Invasion series has returned to limbo. Only one day after announcing a June 21, 2023 release date for the series, the Disney+ landing page for the show has been changed to read “Coming Soon.” The change was pointed out by the Twitter account MCU – CoveredGeekly; Marvel has not officially commented on the change.
Secret Invasion is one of several Marvel projects slated to debut in 2023. On top of the recently released Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, feature films Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3 and The Marvels are expected to finally hit theaters this year after significant release delays.
On Disney+, Secret Invasion joins the 2023 lineup with the second seasons of Loki and What If…?, as well as potential premieres from Echo, Ironheart, and Agatha: Coven of Chaos. Given the studio’s current trajectory, the latter releases will likely be pushed to 2024.
Big franchises like Marvel, DC, and Star Wars have made a habit of announcing projects and release dates years in advance, only to delay or cancel their plans. Unforeseen circumstances always come into play – creative differences, development issues, controversies, etc. Lately, Marvel has experienced one crisis after another, and the floating release date of Secret Invasion may be a side effect.
“Marvel Fatigue” has been setting in with the studio’s content after Avengers: Endgame. Marvel fans have felt it in the air for a long time, but survey data, ratings, and box office turnouts have begun to quantify the wavering in one of the largest and most loyal fanbases in cinema history.
As one of its most reliable moneymakers shows signs of slowing, Disney is implementing strategic shifts. Cost-cutting, consolidation, and layoffs have affected Marvel up to the executive level. Costly streaming series like Secret Invasion are under scrutiny as streamers across the industry focus on making their platforms profitable after years of exorbitant spending. For Disney, pressure from investors has been compounded by controversy.
Former Marvel executive Victoria Alonso is suing the studio for wrongful termination. Her departure also spotlighted the visual effects crisis in the Marvel system. On top of that, Marvel actor Jonathan Majors is facing criminal charges in New York (though he has not yet been convicted), jeopardizing one of the studio’s key players in its interconnected cinematic universe.
Marvel is balancing on an economic tight wire while juggling numerous issues, all of which are on fire. The exact release for Secret Invasion may not be top of mind for Kevin Feige and co., but the fact that it keeps changing proves that it is still a factor in the studio’s circus act. Financially speaking, it may be a big one.
Marvel’s TV shows reportedly have a price tag of about $25 million per episode. The six-episode run of Secret Invasion is poised to be the biggest Marvel TV event yet, and though the show’s budget details have not been released, there is no doubt the series is costing Marvel a pretty penny.
Secret Invasion stars heavy hitters Samuel L. Jackson, Emilia Clarke, Ben Mendelsohn, Olivia Colman, Cobie Smulders, and Christopher McDonald. The series looks to be an expansive journey as Jackson’s Nick Fury investigates the global infiltration of the shape-shifting alien race, the Skrulls.
Shifting release dates are par for the course for Marvel, and given the current environment, the indecision around Secret Invasion, while potentially frustrating, should not come as a shock. Before fans can see Nick Fury deal with the Skrull crisis, Marvel has to deal with its own crises. Until then, the release of Marvel’s latest invasion will remain a secret.
