'Secret Invasion' Ending Explained: How It Sets Up 'The Marvels' (In the Worst Way Possible)

Another Marvel show has come and gone, which means it’s time to consider how Secret Invasion’s ending both resolves its own story and sets up the next chapter in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Unfortunately, as the MCU becomes more complicated (and arguably more disorganized) the answer to those questions becomes less satisfying. And in the case of Secret Invasion, the show’s ending has us concerned about Marvel’s next big movie: The Marvels.

Confused? Me too. Let’s dive a little deeper into Secret Invasion’s ending and what it means for The Marvels. Spoilers ahead!

Secret Invasion Ending Explained

Nick Fury in the Secret Invasion finale.

I won’t go into too many specifics here (that’s what Wikipedia is for), but here are a few unresolved plotlines at the end of Secret Invasion:

1. The President of the United States (an underused Dermot Mulroney) outs the Skrulls to the general public, unleashing gangs of vigilantes who shoot down the alien shapeshifters without discerning between the “good” ones and the “bad” ones (sometimes taking out a regular human by mistake in the process).
2. G'iah (Emilia Clarke’s Skrull superhero) and MI6 agent Sonya Falsworth (a delightful Olivia Colman) team up for a dream Marvel spinoff that will almost certainly never see the light of day.
3. Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) and his wife Vara (a Skrull played by Charlayne Woodard) head to outer space to hopefully solve the whole Skrull thing once and for all.

In other words, Secret Invasion ends with a ton of unanswered questions (we still don’t know how long Rhodey was a Skrull, for example, or what the deal was with Nick Fury’s sandwich in Age of Ultron). But worse, there’s enough plotline left over for an entire second season of a show that’s explicitly billed as a miniseries.

G'iah becomes a Super Skrull and defeats the villainous Gravik (in case you were wondering).

Marvel’s made it clear that these Disney+ shows aren’t multiseason affairs (with the exception of Loki). There will be no Secret Invasion Season 2, which means one of two things:

1. None of these unfinished plotlines will ever be resolved.
2. The Marvels is really just Secret Invasion Season 2.

Let’s talk about that second option for a minute.

Secret Invasion and The Marvels

The Marvels (out November 10) also needs to introduce some villains of its own.

It’s no huge shock that these two Marvel projects are connected. They both feature Nick Fury and both connect back to characters introduced in 2019’s Captain Marvel. But so far, the trailers for The Marvels have focused heavily on the fun dynamic that comes with assembling Captain Marvel/Carol Danvers, Kamala Khan/Ms. Marvel, and Photos/Monica Rambeau. It’s unclear how the MCU might also squeeze in screentime for G'iah, Sonya, or the president in what already looks to be an overstuffed crossover movie.

Of course, Marvel has its ways. There are cameos and Easter eggs, not to mention the multiple post-credits scenes that will certainly accompany The Marvels. But that’s likely not enough to give Secret Invasion the satisfying ending it still needs.

The only way to actually resolve everything would be to make The Marvels into Secret Invasion Season 2, which, as I’ve already established, would be a recipe for a mediocre movie. In other words, no matter what Marvel’s next movie tries to do, it’s already been set up to fail by Marvel’s latest show.

Secret Invasion is streaming now on Disney+. The Marvels hits theaters on November 10.