"It"s a Story Unto Itself": Secret Invasion Director Was Told Not To Read Comics Before Making Show

With having his own inspirations for the show, Secret Invasion director Ali Selim reveals he was told not to read the Marvel Comics. Penned by Brian Michael Bendis and illustrated by Leinil Francis Yu, the eponymous storyline is considered one of the most iconic in Marvel's long comics history, revealing that many of fans' favorite superheroes had secretly been replaced by the shapeshifting race of aliens known as the Skrulls in an attempt to take over Earth. The Disney+ series will see Samuel L. Jackson's Nick Fury racing against the clock to prevent the final steps in their plans.
Ahead of the show's premiere, Screen Rant spoke exclusively with Ali Selim to discuss Secret Invasion. When asked how he sought to adapt the iconic Marvel storyline, the director acknowledged that not only was the majority of the adaptation challenges put on creator Kyle Bradstreet, but that he was even explicitly told not to read the comics ahead of making the show, as it would be a major departure from the source material. See what Selim explained below:

When I took on this job as director, I didn't write the script. So a lot of those decisions were made by Kyle Bradstreet and the other team of writers that we had. The first thing I was told is don't read the comics. It had nothing to do with what we're trying to do here. This story was really born out of the electricity created between Sam Jackson and Ben Mendelsohn or Nick Fury and Talos in Captain Marvel. And they said, "Oh, we got to do something with that." So they found a story that would serve that relationship and would expand the MCU and other characters who are not in the comic books. I think it's a story unto itself.

Why Secret Invasion Can't Directly Adapt The Marvel Comics Given its beloved history in the comics world, Selim's comments on Secret Invasion taking a very loose approach to adapting the source material may come as a concerning point for those who love the original story. The MCU has a unique history of borrowing from the various iconic comics to inform their stories, some of which result in more acclaim from comic book fans with the likes of WandaVision, while others such as Ms. Marvel leave the more knowledgeable divided on the changes.