Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with Chris Pratt about his work on ‘The Garfield Movie’, what fans can expect from the film, his approach to voicing the iconic cat, and telling Garfield’s origin story.
You can read the full interview below or click on the video player above to watch the interview.
Moviefone: To begin with, what would you say to audience members sitting down in a theater to prepare them for the theatrical experience they are about to have?
Chris Pratt: Oh, they’re already in the theater? I’d say turn your phones off, get your popcorn, sit back and relax. You thought you knew Garfield? You didn’t know nothing yet. That’s what I would say, something like that. But to those who are thinking of going to the movies, I would say get your tickets now, because they’re going to sell out. May 24th don’t miss it!
MF: You are following in the footsteps of Lorenzo Music and Bill Murray, who have both voiced this role. What does it mean to you personally to get a chance to put your own spin on an iconic character like Garfield?
CP: Man, I’m grateful. This is an entire collaborative effort by a great production team and a wonderful director who had been working on this for years before I jumped on board. So really, I was just honored and blessed that they thought the voice of the guy from ‘Parks and Rec’ was the voice of this cat. That’s what they told me. He said, “I’ve been working on this for years. I keep hearing your voice coming out of this cat in my head. That’s what I want. You’ve got a natural, lazy, sarcastic tone to your voice. I want that voice.” I was like, “Well, that’s cool. Because I know the guy who has that voice, and he could do it for you. I’ve been working on this voice for my whole life, apparently.” So, it was nice. In a way it kind of took the pressure off because I knew what they wanted, and only I could give it to them. It was just something organic and natural, my own breath, my own voice, my own spirit for this character. I feel blessed.
MF: Can you talk about your approach to the character? Did you relate to him right away?
CP: Yeah, early on. There are elements in my life that make me feel like Garfield now. I’m very pampered. I’m a Hollywood guy. There was a certain affectation in the voice which was kind of closer to what a person sounds like when they’re about to yawn, and I just thought that was kind of something to work in. That’s where I was feeling like a lot of times the voice would come from, and just trusting the director and knowing that we had a great script. Once the action took over, it was about a character that was on an adventure. So, it’s like the sleepiness and the laziness that really works for the character who’s being pampered and who’s living a lazy life. But when you’re on the run and you’re in a heist movie, you must shift gears and become a character on an action adventure. Because suddenly, this cat that’s typically sarcastic and a little bit of a biting, comedic laziness, can’t be sarcastic and lazy, he must be on the road. Once you get clipping along, that’s what the movie becomes.
MF: Finally, we got to see Garfield’s origin story in this movie, and meet his father, Vic. Can you talk a little bit about that and Garfield’s relationship with Vic?
CP: It’s a great relationship. Samuel L. Jackson voices Vic beautifully. Vic is this streetwise, scruffy, outdoor cat, and he’s kind of on the run. Garfield is your world-famous lasagna-loving, Monday-hating, sarcastic, indoor-pampered pet. Vic takes him on this epic outdoor adventure along with Odie, and they basically are enlisted in this really high-stakes and super-funny heist scenario. So that’s the movie. That’s the relationship. The relationship is one of a father who his son believed abandoned him in an alley one day, and you see that from the trailer. You see that in the opening scene of the movie that he’s got an issue with this guy Vic who claims to be his dad, because his dad left him in an alley. So, healing that relationship and seeing the father try to teach this cat some valuable tricks of the trade, some hard knocks lessons on how to be an outdoor cat, is some of the fun in the movie.
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What is the Plot of ‘The Garfield Movie’?
Garfield (voiced by Chris Pratt), the world-famous, Monday-hating, lasagna-loving indoor cat, is about to have a wild outdoor adventure! After an unexpected reunion with his long-lost father – scruffy street cat Vic (voiced by Samuel L. Jackson) – Garfield and his canine friend Odie (voiced by Harvey Guillén) are forced from their perfectly pampered life into joining Vic in a hilarious, high-stakes heist.
That’s set to change thanks to a new post-apocalyptic thriller that has Bautista starring and Jackson among its supporting cast. ‘Afterburn’ promises to put them into a whole new world.
Dave Bautista in ‘Knock at the Cabin,’ directed by M. Night Shyamalan.
Based on the Red 5 Comics graphic novel by Scott Chitwood, Paul Ens and artist Wayne Nichols, ‘Afterburn’ is set 10 years after a solar flare has wiped out technology across the globe.
Bautista will play ex-soldier Jake, who works as a treasure hunter recovering valuable objects from the old world for powerful clients. His latest mission is to team with freedom fighter Drea to recover the Mona Lisa before an unhinged warlord gets there first –– all while avoiding mutated creatures that roam the territory.
Jackson will play the supporting role of freedom fighter Valentine.
Who is making ‘Afterburn’?
Jamie Foxx as Bud Jablonski in ‘Day Shift.’ Photo: Parrish Lewid/Netflix.
J.J. Perry, who made Netflix vampire action/comedy ‘Day Shift’ is aboard to direct, and the movie will mark his second time working with Bautista, since the actor appeared in Perry’s most recent film, upcoming ‘The Killer’s Game’. That one sees him playing a world-weary assassin who has taken a hit out on himself, only to discover his girlfriend is pregnant. Together, they race across Europe trying to outrun people looking to kill him.
‘Afterburn’ is one that has been on the minds of producers Neal H. Moritz and Toby Jaffe for some time, as they’ve been looking to get this one made since at least 2018. It’ll finally kick off shooting this April in Europe.
Here’s what Toby Jaffe said about the movie:
“Afterburn is a terrific action story, combining the fun of Indiana Jones with the near future world building of ‘Children of Men.’ J.J. is going to bring this to life in a thrilling way, using real practical stunt work to create authentic, visceral set pieces. Dave is one of the leading action stars in the world today, as well as being an actor with real soul and versatility. So excited to be making ‘Afterburn’ with them both.”
When will ‘Afterburn’ be in theaters?
Given that the movie still has to shoot and is in the market for a distributor, we wouldn’t expect this one to hit theaters before 2025.
Samuel L. Jackson at the red carpet premiere of Marvel Studios’ ‘Secret Invasion.’
‘The Marvels’ opened to $47 million at the domestic box office.
Globally, the movie has made just $88 million.
The movie stars Brie Larson, Teyonah Parris and Iman Vellani.
The movie’s tagline read, “Higher. Further. Faster. Together.”, but the box office results for ‘The Marvels’ has sadly proved to be more “Lower. Slower. Alone.” It’s true: the latest release from the Marvel Cinematic Universe, once considered a license to print money, has cratered at the domestic and international box office.
‘The Marvels’, the sequel to 2019’s ‘Captain Marvel’ (which soared to $1.13 billion in total from its own worldwide release), has failed to capture the imaginations of audiences, and earned just $47 million domestically, with $88.5 million worldwide.
‘The Marvels’, directed by ‘Candyman’s Nia DaCosta, picks up the story of Carol Danvers, AKA Captain Marvel (Brie Larson) as she’s forced to face the consequences of her actions destroying the Supreme Intelligence of the Kree race.
A vengeful Kree leader, Dar-Benn (Zawe Ashton) has discovered a powerful weapon in her crusade to strike back against both Carol and the Kree’s ancient rivals, the Skrulls.
And the use of the weapon, plus some malfunctioning space transport portals is also affecting the powers of Carol, Monica Rambeau (who knew her as a child and who we met as an adult in ‘WandaVision’, played by Teyonah Parris) and Kamala Khan , AKA Ms. Marvel (Iman Vellani), causing them to trade places whenever they employ their abilities.
The result is a chaotic chase through space to stop Dar-Benn’s plan to wreak havoc on the Skrulls and humanity, one that also ropes in both Kamala’s family and Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson).
Critics are already pointing to a slightly confusing storyline, a need to have some knowledge of previous Marvels shows and movies to understand all the characters’ motivations (a common complaint with the MCU’s output) and a general feeling of superhero fatigue –– which has affected fellow superhero studio DC and others in the genre of late.
There’s also a disappointing notion that despite the movie being a fun, funny adventure, some sections of the audience were turned off by a film in the genre directed by a woman and starring three women.
Finally, the SAG-AFTRA strike meant that the stars couldn’t promote the movie until the night of release, all of which didn’t help its fate.
(L to R) Ryan Reynolds as Deadpool and Hugh Jackman as Wolverine in ‘Deadpool 3.’ Photo courtesy of Ryan Reynolds Instagram account.
A bad box office result is by no means the end of the MCU –– after all, Marvel titles have had issues before (the likes of the ‘Ant-Man’ series, for one have rarely big giant cinematic hits). But it will almost certainly mean a reconsideration of strategy and ideas moving forward, as has been seen with the company’s small screen output.
Long-delayed and awaited with trepidation by MCU fans, ‘The Marvels’ is far from the strongest entry in the franchise’s 33-film library. But it’s not unwatchably bad as rumored, either. There is some crisp action and moments that are inarguably funny and sweet, while other sequences will make one cringe and wonder who thought they were a good idea. Yet it does benefit from some solid performances, especially Iman Vellani in her big screen debut as Ms. Marvel – except that many more casual viewers may not even know who she is.
As ‘The Marvels’ opens, we are barraged with a bunch of material designed to catch us up, including a more or less complete recap of 2019’s ‘Captain Marvel.’ In addition to it being more than four years since that movie came out, ‘The Marvels’ tries to introduce us to two characters we’ve never seen on the big screen before: Kamala Khan/Ms. Marvel (Iman Vellani) and the grown-up version of Captain Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris). Both made their debuts via Marvel shows on Disney+ — ‘Ms. Marvel’ and ‘WandaVision’ respectively (Monica was a little girl in ‘Captain Marvel’) – and it’s a heavy lift to bank so much of this movie on audiences knowing who they are.
That’s because the emotional core of ‘The Marvels’ is supposed to be the relationship between these three superheroes, and while our three leads do share some excellent chemistry, it’s hard to feel emotionally invested in the way they come together, since we barely know two of them unless we’ve been tuning into their shows. The plot doesn’t offer them much room to develop either, especially Brie Larson’s Captain Marvel.
Instability in the space-time continuum – caused by the film’s villain, the Kree revolutionary Dar-Benn (Zawe Ashton), punching portals in said continuum – leads Captain Marvel (Brie Larson), Ms. Marvel, and Monica to all begin switching places with each other every time they use their light-based powers, thanks to “quantum entanglement” (where’s Hank Pym when you need him?). Tracing the problem back to Dar-Benn with the help of Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) and his space-based S.A.B.E.R. squad, the three women learn that Dar-Benn is channeling her power through an ancient armband – the companion to a similar artifact around Kamala’s forearm.
Fueled by a hatred for Captain Marvel that’s rooted in the latter’s past, Dar-Benn hatches a plan that will allow her to take her revenge while also restoring vitality to her depleted Kree home world of Hala – unless the Marvels can stop her.
There have been numerous reports of trouble behind the scenes on ‘The Marvels,’ and watching the film does give one the sensation of watching a product that was patched together as best as possible and finally just let out into the world. It’s not bad exactly: it moves relatively quickly – almost too fast at points – and some of its best moments have a sense of fun that’s been lacking in some more ponderous MCU efforts. The title trio also have their moments, with Iman Vellani – who made such a sparkling screen debut on ‘Ms. Marvel’ – a standout and finding her footing after some early unsteadiness.
But the plot seems murky and half-formulated at times, with people and places coming and going and narrative threads either dropped abruptly or just fading away, victims of the surgery that may have whipped this into presentable form. There are also sequences that just don’t work, most notably a sojourn to a planet where all communication is done via song, an ill-conceived stab at a mini-musical that is just embarrassing.
With the exception of some in-your-face action scenes (including a climactic battle between the Marvels and the villain that does not, for once, involve massive objects falling out of the sky onto buildings), Nia DaCosta’s direction of ‘The Marvels’ feels anonymous, lacking the mood of her previous films ‘Little Woods’ and ‘Candyman.’ Again, it’s mostly the camaraderie of the three leads that makes individual scenes work and keeps ‘The Marvels’ entertaining despite its deep flaws.
As we’ve already been saying, Iman Vellani mostly makes good on the promise of her debut in ‘Ms. Marvel.’ Her initial scenes here are a little shaky, as she overemotes and screams, but she settles in and finds her groove, and is a delight from that point out. She is the audience point-of-view character: a Captain Marvel superfan (in other words, an MCU fan) who can’t believe the things she’s seeing and participating in alongside her idol. It’s a warm, sweet, and charming performance.
Teyonah Parris’ no-nonsense Monica Rambeau is the other standout, also giving an empathetic performance while conveying a strong sense of the powerful woman behind the light blasts. As for Brie Larson, we’ve always felt that she was possibly miscast as Carol Danvers; we still feel that way. While she has moments that are quite effective, there are times when we’re not sure what she’s doing: a blank, wide-eyed expression frequently comes over her face. In the end, while she interacts well with her partners, Larson just doesn’t have – and perhaps never had – the gravitas that this powerful being requires.
As for the rest of the cast, British actor Zawe Ashton has a wicked grin and blazing eyes as Dar-Benn (in the comics, a male villain so obscure that he was killed after appearing in two books), but she doesn’t get to do a whole lot except fight and hold out her hammer (which is bigger than Mjolnir). Samuel L. Jackson collects his check as a somewhat cutesier Nick Fury, while Zenobia Shroff is as excellent here as she was in ‘Ms. Marvel’ as Kamala’s mom Muneeba.
The editing on “The Marvels” must have been a challenge for its two editors, Evan Schiff and Catrin Hedström. On one hand, some of the action sequences – especially the hand-to-hand combat between the Marvels, Dar-Benn, and her Kree minions, as the three heroes constantly swap places – are kinetic and surprisingly intimate, getting right up close into the action. But other parts of the film feel cut to the very bone, if not beyond, with the plot feeling less like a coherent narrative and more like just a choppy string of events. Plot points and characters get hustled on and offscreen like Oscar winners on a particularly overlong show.
Cara Brower’s production design is equally bifurcated, with some of the space-based imagery looking like it jumped off a sci-fi magazine cover, while a lot of the story takes place on Carol’s cramped ship and anonymous hallways in both Dar-Benn’s vessel and Nick Fury’s orbital headquarters. Aside from the cosmic stuff and some colorful costumes in the otherwise ill-advised Aladna sequence, there isn’t much that jumps out as compared to other Marvel movies. The visual effects, such a thorn in Marvel’s side these past few years, are…okay. Some of the imagery crackles and looks sharp, while other scenes (particularly an attack on a Skrull refugee camp) look cheaper and flimsier by comparison.
Finally, Laura Karpman’s music has grandeur but lacks identity. Like other aspects of this movie, it harkens back to a different generation of franchise films and doesn’t have much in the way of a singular theme or motif to make it leap out to the forefront. Like much in “The Marvels,” it seems generic.
What Does ‘The Marvels’ Mean For The MCU’s Future?
Without getting into spoilers, there are seeds planted by ‘The Marvels’ – especially in the tag before the credits roll and a rather mind-blowing mid-credits scene – that are sure to get fans fired up and speculating wildly about what’s next. As well they should: both scenes herald interesting new developments in the MCU. Beyond that, however, it’s difficult to say what comes next for Captain Marvel herself and her place in the Marvel firmament.
Brie Larson has made her disillusionment with the vicious toxicity surrounding the role very apparent (and good for Marvel for ignoring all that nonsense and giving this movie four female leads), and with “The Marvels” being for most of its length a fairly self-contained story, it’s hard to see what a third “Captain Marvel” would look like. On the other hand, would Larson be willing to play a supporting, mentor-like role to a very different team of Avengers? Like many members of the MCU’s current roster, Carol Danvers’ future doesn’t have a clear path in front of it.
Final Thoughts
‘The Marvels’ is by no means the catastrophe that online rumors and industry buzz have made it out to be. It’s got some terrific attributes, including the presence of Iman Vellani, the chemistry between the three leads, its unrepentant “girl power” message, compact pacing and a sense of fun. But a lot of it feels patched together, some of the humor falls flat, and it demands a lot of viewers who may not be up on all the Marvel shows on Disney+. Whether it represents the MCU managing to maintain a certain amount of quality control during a tough time or a new lower standard for the studio is not yet clear.
‘The Marvels’ receives 6 out of 10 stars.
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What is the plot of ‘The Marvels’?
Carol Danvers (Brie Larson), known in the universe as Captain Marvel, suddenly finds herself switching places physically with her superpowered niece Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris) and an equally powerful teen named Kamala Khan (Iman Vellani). They trace the anomaly back to a villainous Kree leader (Zawe Ashton) who harbors a deep hatred for Carol and nefarious plans for worlds throughout the cosmos.
Who is in the cast of ‘The Marvels’?
Brie Larson (‘Fast X’) as Carol Danvers/Captain Marvel
Iman Vellani (‘Ms. Marvel’) as Kamala Khan/Ms. Marvel
The movie stars Brie Larson, Iman Vellani, and Teyonah Parris reprising their MCU roles as Carol Danvers, Kamala Khan, and Monica Rambeau, respectively, and was directed by Nia DaCosta (‘Candyman’).
(Left) ‘The Marvels’ director Nia DeCosta. (RIght) ‘The Marvels’ executive producer Mary Livonas.
Moviefone recently had the pleasure of sitting down in-person with director Nia DaCosta and executive producer Mary Livonas (‘WandaVision’) to talk about their work on ‘The Marvels.’
They discussed the new movie, the challenges of crafting a ‘Captain Marvel’ sequel that also includes elements from ‘Ms. Marvel’ and ‘WandaVision,’ introducing Kamala Khan and Monica Rambeau to the big screen, working with Brie Larson, navigating the “Marvel System,” the most difficult scene to shoot, and what fans can expect from breakout character Goose.
You can read the full interview below or click on the video player above to watch our interviews with DeCosta, Livonas, and composer Laura Karpman.
Moviefone: To begin with, Nia, can you talk about the challenges as a filmmaker of coming into direct a sequel that is also drawing on storylines from the TV series ‘Ms. Marvel’ and ‘WandaVision,’ as well as the 32 previous MCU movies? Was it difficult to find the right tone?
Nia DaCosta: Weirdly, the tone was one of the easiest things. It came naturally. I really wanted this to have a very specific tone because it’s a very different kind of film, we have these three heroes together, and it was important to me that it was funny. I wanted a lot of the humor to not necessarily come from jokes, but to come from just the warmth and the reality of the characters. So, the Khan family are just so funny, because their youngest member is a superhero and they’re like, “We’re from Jersey City. What are you talking about?” Then Carol being jaded, and Monica having her experience and her way of dealing with the craziness of everything that’s going on. So, tone was important to me and the thing that came most naturally.
MF: Mary, as a producer, was it difficult working with Marvel to keep track of all the continuity?
Mary Livonas: Well, what’s been so great is that this is a team-up that’s been in the works for a very long time. I was fortunate to work on the first ‘Captain Marvel’ movie, and it was a definite decision to make Monica Rambeau the age that she was in that installment because it took place in the past. Because we knew that we wanted Carol and Monica to one day share the big screen together. Then of course when ‘Ms. Marvel’ came up as a possibility for a Disney+ show and that show was developed and came out, it was an awesome experience to work in lockstep with that team to understand what foundation they were laying. But what’s wonderful is that the notion of a team-up is so ingrained in the DNA of Marvel Comics that to put it on screen felt natural for us. Again, I was lucky enough to work on ‘WandaVision,’ so continuing that story thread was also wish fulfillment and a blast to do. Really this is a team up movie unlike anything that we’ve seen before in Marvel. We’ve had the adventures, but this is a team-up movie that stands on its own two feet.
MF: For both of you, what was it like to have the opportunity to introduce Kamala Khan and Monica Rambeau to the big screen?
ND: It was so fun. It was so great. Especially because I love ‘Ms. Marvel.’ Ms. Marvel is one of my favorite characters in the comics, and I really loved meeting Monica Rambeau in ‘WandaVision.’ So, being able to bring them onto the big screen and do more with them and throw them into a much bigger scenario than they’d been in in the TV shows was really cool.
ML: What’s great is just the ability to celebrate the incredible performances and the characters that Teyonah and Iman have helped develop and introduce them to a larger audience. What’s wonderful about this film and this installment is the notion that together we’re more than the sum of our parts and we certainly find that in the case of ‘The Marvels.’
MF: Mary, what was it like for you to collaborate with director Nia DaCosta on this project?
ML: It’s been awesome helping bring Nia’s vision to life and creating this story together. She’s not just wickedly cool, but she’s a total nerd. When we first met, we just gushed about all the characters that we love for hours. So, to make the movie alongside someone who’s as passionate, with a fellow fan was a joy. I can say the same about our crew members, but Nia is just such a talent and a force. Of course, she helped write on this as well and we’re lucky to have her talent.
MF: Nia, I understand that you’re a big of fan Marvel Comics. How did your knowledge of these characters and the Marvel universe uniquely qualify you to direct this movie?
ND: I think it was less the knowledge, and more my passion for it. I was really excited by it, and I think because I was a fan, it helped me to put trust into the Marvel system, even when I was like, “Oh my God, I would never do this usually.” It helped in that way. Also, just from day to day, being able to have people on wires, flying around and introduce characters that I really love from the comics, that was so fun. So that’s helpful, just in terms of keeping the passion alive.
MF: Can you expand on your experience working with the “Marvel System?” What was that like for you as a filmmaker?
ND: Yeah, it’s interesting because this is one movie in a huge line of films that have come before and will come after, and television shows, and they’re making so much more now, so it was interesting having to navigate and communicate between projects. For the most part, we got to do what we wanted to do, but you always are in a constant conversation with everyone, with Kevin Feige, with the ‘Ms. Marvel” show. Asking about the things coming after, trying to figure out information like, “Have you figured out what you’re doing with that yet? Because that will influence whether or not I have this in this scene.” So, it’s so different, but it was also a fun challenge.
MF: What’s it like having actress Brie Larson as number one on your call sheet? What kind of tone does she set on the set?
ND: Well, she’d done ‘Captain Marvel’, she’d done ‘Avengers: Endgame,’ which is obviously one of the biggest movies of all time, not even just because of how successful it was, but just the making of it. So, she was an old hand. She really came in with so much information and a desire to help everyone else and have a good experience. When we initially talked, we both agreed this should be a joyful experience and fun, and she wanted everyone to have a good time. It’s really demanding on actors physically and emotionally doing this kind of movie. You’re on wires, you’re working a lot, so she was a great leader in that sense.
ML: Brie’s an incredibly giddy, fun-loving person who brings such earnestness and compassion to the role as well as on set. She really helped lead the charge and make sure that the environment was a chill, fun one.
MF: Nia, was there one scene or sequence in particular that was especially difficult or challenging to shoot?
ND: Not extremely, but that first big set piece that we have with the switching and the fighting. So that was a big challenge of figuring out the switching, and who’s where when, where are they going, where are they coming from, and what side do we show. Once we got through that big challenge, it really helped us to have an easier time with the rest of the film. So that, I think, would be probably the most challenging. But also, the most informative.
MF: Finally, Goose was the breakout star of ‘Captain Marvel,’ what can fans expect from the character in ‘The Marvels?’
ND: Goose just has the best time in this film, and I think she is the fourth Marvel. She’s the star of the film. So, I think there’s a lot of exciting stuff with Goose in this movie.
ML: Goose continues to be as chaotic as Goose has ever been and as audiences have seen quick glimpses of, there are more Flerkens afoot. Rizzo is the US-based Goose, but we had Nemo and Tango with us in the UK. They are very exclusive celebrities who have very regimented training schedules. They’re awesome to work with. Incredibly talented, beautiful souls.
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What is the plot of ‘The Marvels’?
While investigating a wormhole linked to the Kree, Monica Rambeau’s (Teyonah Parris) powers become entangled with those of Kamala Khan (Iman Vellani) and Carol Danvers (Brie Larson). The trio team up to determine why they are swapping places with each other every time they use their powers.
Who is in the cast of ‘The Marvels’?
Brie Larson (‘Fast X‘) as Carol Danvers / Captain Marvel
The movie follows an art dealer (Uma Thurman) who teams with a hitman (Joe Manganiello) and his boss (Samuel L. Jackson) for a money laundering scheme that accidentally turns the hitman into an Avant-Garde sensation, forcing the dealer to play the art world against the criminal underworld.
Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with director Nicol Paone about her work on ‘The Kill Room,’ her first reaction to the screenplay, the art world, if the plot could happen in real life, location scouting, working with Uma Thurman, pairing her with her daughter Maya Hawke and reuniting her with ‘Pulp Fiction’ co-star Samuel L. Jackson, and why Joe Manganiello was perfect for his role.
(Center) Director Nicol Paone on the set of Shout! Studio’s ‘The Kill Room.’
You can read the full interview below or click on the video player above to watch the interview.
Moviefone: To begin with, what was your first reaction to the screenplay and the humor jump off the page or did you find that in production?
Nicol Paone: Jonathan Jacobson wrote a brilliantly fantastic script. So in the first scene, he had something at the end, like the legs kicking to the music, and I thought, “Oh, this isn’t just one of those, shoot them up, kill them, male, we’re going to kill people movies.” It has this clever tone to it. Then once I got my hands on it, Jonathan and I explored that even more. But to be fair, it was all there on the page.
MF: The story follows an art dealer who uses her gallery to launder money. Has that ever happened in real life? Do you think it could?
NP: Personally, I think it could happen. The reason why Jonathan wrote the script was because he read an article where this woman was stabbed at Art Basel, and she walked around for, I don’t know how long, but people thought it was an art piece. His wife owns an art gallery, and so he’s ensconced in the world. He thought, “What a great way to kind of send up the world.” Truly, I think it could happen, actually. I mean, the ridiculousness of it is, I don’t think people going to an art fair would even think that that could happen. But strangely, we were supposed to shoot at Art Basel and they didn’t really have a problem with the murder (in the script), they had more of a problem with the tax evasion, which I thought was very interesting. Thou dost protest too much.
(L to R) Samuel L. Jackson as Gordon Davis and Uma Thurman as Patrice Capullo in Shout! Studio’s ‘The Kill Room.’
MF: How would you describe the unusual alliance and eventual friendship that forms between Patrice, Gordon and Reggie?
NP: They definitely have a kinship. Well, I think where we are in the world now with strikes and everything kind of getting a spotlight on it, I keep saying art and creativity is more than just art and creativity. It can solve anything if we come to the table with our gripes, grievances, fears, wants, needs, desires, and work it out, like the human beings and the family that we are. So that’s truly what Reggie and Patrice do. They’re both in predicaments, and Gordon, even though he’s kind of leading the charge, pulling some strings, he is a soft sweetheart too. The three of them are all really in a predicament, and they are pushing each other’s buttons and forcing each other to kind of go to the next level. Patrice is forcing Reggie to see himself as something different, and he does through the art world, and through the art that he accidentally makes, they get through it. I think it’s analogous to what we should be doing right now in this world.
MF: What was your experience like working with Uma Thurman?
NP: She is an icon. I think she’s one of the greatest actresses of our time. I think her performance in ‘Kill Bill’ is legendary. There was nothing, really, that she wouldn’t try or do. She was up for anything. It was fun. She brought so many levels to this character that, truthfully, on the page, it was all there. Patrice is a complex character, and that’s what attracted Uma to it. So there are many times in the movie where I take the dialogue out of one take and put it in Uma’s mouth on another, and the camera’s on her. So Uma gave varied performances, but with the same rhythm and it matches the words. That is just other level mastery that I don’t know how many people achieve. But she was a champion of the project from the start, and I am truly grateful for her for saying yes.
(Center) Uma Thurman as Patrice Capullo in Shout! Studio’s ‘The Kill Room.’
MF: Can you talk about pairing her with her daughter, Maya Hawke? What was it like shooting them together in the same scene?
NP: It was brilliant, and it was lovely. It was fun to watch and experience, and help navigate and guide. Maya is wise beyond her years, and she has so many layers to herself and her craft. I love the way they both are coming on screen together. It’s not some precious mommy-daughter role. It’s two acerbic women, strong, capable, three-dimensional characters coming together on screen. I think there was one point when we were filming, they were both holding their hands the same way, and it was funny.
MF: You also had an opportunity to reunite Uma Thurman with her ‘Pulp Fiction’ co-star Samuel L. Jackson. Can you talk about their chemistry and what they were like together on set?
NP: It was thrilling. I remember our first rehearsal, Uma, she went and she locked the door. She turned and she was like, “Let’s get Sam.” It took all the air and any of the nervousness that I had had out. Just getting to work with them, it was one of the greatest creative experiences of my life, in that as a director, you hope that your team and the people behind you support you and get on board. They were on board from the start. Whatever I wanted and needed, they gave me. Not only in the way in which I thought I wanted, but they took it maybe five, ten steps further, and gave me everything and more. They’ve seen it all and they know it all. So just being in that rarefied air, and not having to explain what I need. They anticipated everything I needed and more, and that only comes from experience. They’ve truly seen it all, and they put it all out there on screen. Truly, I could’ve kept a lot of the scenes just in the masters, just watching them in the quiet moments. Even with adding Joe to that layer, there were several three shots that I truly could have just had the scene play out in a master, because they were all just giving me so much.
(L to R) Uma Thurman as Patrice Capullo and Samuel L. Jackson as Gordon Davis in Shout! Studio’s ‘The Kill Room.’
MF: Sam Jackson’s character has a very specific look and style. Was that in the script or did Mr. Jackson create that on his own?
NP: No, it was all talked about and all discussed. That character started out as Herschel, a 72-year-old Jewish man. Then when Uma came on board, she was like, “Is Sam Jackson an option?” That was her question to me. I was like, “Yes, Sam Jackson is most definitely an option.” So Jonathan and I, over one day, right before the Christmas break, rewrote the script with Sam in mind. So that’s when he became The Black Dreidel, and spoke Yiddish. With that information, then we talked about the look. Sam has an incredible team, and they came with the beard, and we all just kind of went from there. That’s what ended up on screen and I think it’s perfect.
MF: For you as a director, why was Joe Manganiello the right actor to play his role?
NP: Joe is a brilliant, classically trained actor, and I don’t think many people know that. I thought it would be really fun for people to see that, because it’s all under there. We were very careful not to keep him in t-shirts, and I didn’t want him shirtless or any kind of anything. We just wanted Joe to be Reggie, like we knew Joe could. I thought he played it so well, and his layers were fantastic. There are some tonal shifts for him as a character. He’s funny. He gave certain funny looks. When Gordon says, “Who would pay for that crap?” He’s like, “Hey.” Just all of those things that Joe gave, I think the audiences are going to really eat it up. I think when you’re a fan of someone, you want to see them in different tones and layers and levels, and I think this is real fun for the fans of Joe Manganiello to go and see.
Joe Manganiello as Reggie Pitt in Shout! Studio’s ‘The Kill Room.’
MF: Finally, can you talk about location scouting and which location was the hardest to get access to and shoot?
NP: That is a great question. I think the hardest, there were two. So the first program gallery, from LA, I was online and looking, and there were so many galleries in New Jersey that I knew were perfect, so that’s why I was like, “Yeah, we can definitely shoot this in New Jersey.” I’m a New Jersey native, and so I wanted to bring Sam and Uma home. So from LA, I was like, “Absolutely, we can shoot this in New Jersey.” But then when we got on the ground, it was like one place burned down, the other place, it was sort of like a commune. There were so many reasons why we couldn’t shoot in the places that I thought we could. The place that was called Field Colony in Hoboken, that was a workspace, like a co-working space. My production designer, Maite Perez-Nievas, she turned it into an art gallery, and she did it so quickly and so brilliantly. But we were down to the wire on that one, and it was important to have a space that was connected to the street, that also had the office where she could see. So that’s really specific. Thankfully, the folks at Field Colony were 100% up for us just coming in and completely changing their space around. Then the second one that was hard was the Art Basel space. We ended up shooting at a production space. It was basically large and almost looked like an airport hangar. So again, my production designer, we had to do 3D renderings and build the walls, and build that inside room within that Art Basel space. It was very challenging, but I think she did an incredible job with what little money we had, and I think it looks incredible.
Director Nicol Paone on the set of Shout! Studio’s ‘The Kill Room.’
Samuel L. Jackson at the red carpet premiere of Marvel Studios’ ‘Secret Invasion.’
Perhaps the most famous action thriller about a U.S. President getting tough with terrorists on one of his vehicles is 1997’s Wolfgang Peterson’s ‘Air Force One’, in which Harrison Ford plays James Marshall.
He’s none too pleased when Gary Oldman’s band of communist rebels take over the plane and hold his family and staff hostage on board, eventually growling one of the most famous lines of action movie dialogue.
Since then, there have been a few pretenders to the throne (Aaron Eckhart and Morgan Freeman have been Commanders in Chief in peril, but they both had Gerard Butler’s Secret Service tough guy to help out in the ‘..Has Fallen’ movies that launched with 2013’s ‘Olympus Has Fallen’.
Now, though, ‘The Beast’ promises to deliver Samuel L. Jackson kicking ass as a President, who has to utilize the many facilities of his limo.
What’s the story of ‘The Beast’?
Joel Kinnaman as Rick Flag in ‘Suicide Squad.’
The real-life limo used to transport the President is famously nicknamed ‘The Beast’ by the Secret Service agents who ride in and maintain it.
The impenetrable tank is stocked with grenades, shotguns, armor-plating and bullet-and-bomb-proofing.
When a militia of unidentified hostiles coordinates a coup against the U.S. presidency, the President (Jackson) uncovers the extent of The Beast’s highly classified offensive capabilities.
Separated from his wife, the President must learn to control The Beast — and the monster inside himself — in order to save his life, the life of Secret Service agent Taft (Joel Kinnaman), and America.
Director Peter Berg at the world premiere of Netflix’s ‘Spenser Confidential.’ Photo: Charley Gallay.
This one is still in pre-production, and other casting has yet to be announced. But we do know that James Madigan, who has segued from a career in visual effects to second unit director on movies such as ‘The Meg’ and ‘Transformers: Rise of the Beasts’, will direct this one from Umair Aleem’s script.
And Peter Berg, no stranger to action movies himself, will be one of the producers.
Since the film is not yet associated with a studio (it’ll be offered to distributors as a package deal at this year’s Toronto International Film Market), it has a waiver with performers’ union SAG-AFTRA to shoot this year.
Interestingly, it marks the second time Jackson has played the role, since he was the Leader of the Free World in 2014’s ‘Big Game’ in which a teenager helps him survive in a forest after baddies shoot down Air Force One. Could it be the same president? Probably not, but it would be fun to watch Jackson get frustrated about his ride being compromised again.
For Marvel fans, it’ll be a chance to see Jackson getting tough in a tricked-out vehicle again after Nick Fury took on some enemies in ‘Captain America: The Winter Soldier’. Hopefully he won’t have to deal with a metal-armed, defrosted assassin this time…
‘Jurassic Park’ Lego Special Coming to Peacock. Photo courtesy of Peacock.
It is 30 years since ‘Jurassic Park’ sent dinosaurs stomping all over cinema screens, and if you’re someone who saw the original movie in theaters upon release, allow us to commiserate on feeling a little closer to extinction right now.
Naturally, Universal has been celebrating that fact this year, with merchandise and re-releases of the movie into theaters.
And its streaming service Peacock is getting in on the fun, with a planned Lego special that is called ‘Lego Jurassic Park: The Unofficial Retelling’.
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What’s the story of ‘Jurassic Park’?
Jeff Goldblum as Dr. Ian Malcolm in director Steven Spielberg’s ‘Jurassic Park.’
We’re assuming there will be the typical Lego riffs on certain points and characters (as with the ‘Star Wars’ specials), but the phrase “re-telling” leads us to believe that it’ll roughly track the story of Steven Spielberg’s original blockbuster.
In case you’ve been stuck in the cretaceous period and are somehow unaware, ‘Jurassic Park’ is the story of a giant attraction envisioned by billionaire John Hammond (Richard Attenborough), who funds scientific research that invents DNA technology to bring long-extinct dinosaurs back to life. The dinos are intended to be kept safe on an island theme park for the public’s enjoyment.
To assuage the concerns of investors and his legal team, Hammond invites paleontologist Alan Grant (Sam Neill) and paleobiologist Ellie Sattler (Laura Dern) to tour the facility alongside chaotician Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum). And to assess the reaction of his main target audience, Hammond has his grandchildren Tim (Joseph Mazzello) and Lex (Ariana Richards) along for the visit.
Thanks to a combination of corporate espionage and hurricane weather, things do not go exactly as planned… It starts with “ooh and aah”, but later there is running and screaming.
It seems unlikely that the original cast will return to voice the special, but you never know –– the poster features Goldblum’s Ian Malcolm (albeit looking more like he does in later movies), but that doesn’t necessarily mean he’s lending his unique vocal talents.
‘Jurassic Park’ was a giant hit, and spawned two direct sequels, an entire follow-up trilogy (the ‘Jurassic World’ series of movies) and a T-Rex-sized batch of merchandise, theme park attractions and other spin-offs, including Netflix’s ‘Camp Cretaceous’ animated series.
We suppose a Lego special was really just the next logical step, given how many sets of the toys have been themed to the movie’s dino-tastic story.
Universal and Lego
(L to R) Dr. Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum), Dr. Alan Grant (Sam Neill), Dr. Ellie Sattler (Laura Dern), Claire Dearing (Bryce Dallas Howard), Owen Grady (Chris Pratt), Maisie Lockwood (Isabella Sermon) and Kayla Watts (DeWanda Wise) in ‘Jurassic World Dominion,’ co-written and directed by Colin Trevorrow.
It’s also been made possible because Universal scored the rights to make movies and TV shows with Lego projects back in February of this year and has a new ‘Lego Movie’ in development (the original few examples were released by Warner Bros.).
It all means that the characters and cameos won’t cross over into the new movie, though given that Chris Pratt also starred in the ‘Jurassic World’ movies, there’s a chance his character Owen Grady could show up in the film, even if he can’t play Emmett from the previous main ‘Lego’ titles.
We don’t yet know when the special will be on Peacock –– the service’s marketing simply says “Coming soon” right now. But since it’s part of the 30th anniversary celebrations, expect it before the end of the year.
‘Jurassic Park’ Lego Special Coming to Peacock. Photo courtesy of Peacock.
Other Movies Similar to ‘Jurassic Park’ Lego Special:
Cast and crew of Marvel Studios’ ‘Secret Invasion’ at the red carpet premiere.
‘Secret Invasion’ is coming soon to Disney+, a series based on the popular comic book storyline where the shape-shifting species the Skrulls invade Earth. This is also the first Marvel TV series in MCU’s Phase Five.
The official synopsis for ‘Secret Invasion’ is:
“In Secret Invasion, set in the present-day MCU, Fury learns of a clandestine invasion of Earth by a faction of shapeshifting Skrulls. Fury joins his allies, including Everett Ross, Maria Hill, and the Skrull Talos, who has made a life for himself on Earth.”
The series is directed by Ali Selim, who directed all six episodes. ‘Secret Invasion’ will premiere on Disney+ on June 21st, 2023.
Moviefone recently had the pleasure of attending the global virtual press conference for ‘Secret Invasion’. Talent and filmmakers in attendance were Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige, producer Jonathan Schwartz, director Ali Selim, Samuel L Jackson, Ben Mendelsohn, Cobie Smulders, Emilia Clarke, Kingsley Ben-Adir, Olivia Colman, and Don Cheadle.
Here are 10 things we learned from the ‘Secret Invasion’ virtual press conference:
1. Where does ‘Secret Invasion’ take place in the MCU timeline?
Producer Jonathan Schwartz elaborated on how the show fits into MCU’s phase 5 and where it lands in the MCU timeline.
Jonathan Schwartz: It is present day MCU, that’s what we’re calling it. It exists basically along that timeline, along the timeline that the show’s coming out in. Post ‘She-Hulk’, post Blip, right at this exact present day in the MCU. I think that’s all I can say.
2. How the Idea for the ‘Secret Invasion’ Series Came About And How It Differs From The Comics
(L to R) Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige and director Ali Selim at the red carpet premiere of Marvel Studios’ ‘Secret Invasion.’
Kevin Feige recounts the first time he visited the idea of taking the ‘Secret Invasion’ storyline and turning it into a series.
Kevin Feige: I think if you really go back, it did start on ‘Captain Marvel’, even if it wasn’t a ‘Secret Invasion’ idea yet. I think it was the idea that there was more to do with this relationship and with these two characters, with Nick and with Talos. Then the Disney+ doors opened up, and we got the opportunity to play in more genres and expand the sandbox of what we can do. That made ‘Secret Invasion’ by itself a story that had great source material behind it and was a comic event that a lot of people knew and responded to, and was a very cool genre specifically for these two characters. I think that’s what really brought the show to life.
He also touches on how the series will differ from the comic book.
Kevin Feige: We knew we weren’t going to have every character in the Marvel Universe the way it is in the comics. It really was to focus on Sam Jackson and really to focus on this ensemble that you see here today in that, as we said, political thriller aspect to it. We had an amazing group of writers and our amazing director who helped to shepherd it all.
As for which upcoming MCU projects ‘Secret Invasion’ will lead into such as ‘Armor Wars’ or ‘The Marvels’:
Kevin Feige: You’ve named some of them. Yes. I mean, the repercussions will be felt in coming projects.
3. What inspired them to make ‘Secret Invasion’ as a darker, grittier spy-thriller show?
Kevin Feige: Jonathan came into my office a number of years ago, when we were thinking about what kinds of shows to do on Disney+, and he came in with this idea of translating the great ‘Secret Invasion’ storyline from the comics into a darker, grittier spy show, which we hadn’t done. We love to do different genres for everything. This was an attempt to really dive back into things we touched upon in ‘Winter Soldier’, but hadn’t in a while. Really delving into the tone of a spy show and seeing a very different dynamic between Fury and Talos than we had seen in our 90s buddy action movie, ‘Captain Marvel.’
4. The Current State Of Nick Fury In ‘Secret Invasion’
Samuel L. Jackson at the red carpet premiere of Marvel Studios’ ‘Secret Invasion.’
Nick Fury has been involved in the Marvel Cinematic Universe since the beginning – from ‘Iron Man’ in 2008. Fury has been through thick and thin with the Avengers and Thanos’ snap. Samuel L. Jackson talks about where his character is in this series.
Samuel L. Jackson: This is my second appearance post-snap, and he’s been gone for a while. He is a little tired, a little vulnerable, but he’s coming back to Earth because he’s been summoned, and we’ll see what happens. He’s got a bad knee now, and he’s not so happy.
Through the series, the audience will get the chance to learn more about Nicky Fury, the actor mentions that the more we find out about him, the more we’ll like him.
Samuel L. Jackson: We get new information. We go to his house. You got to watch to find out if I live in a condo or a real house, and see if I have a yard. That stuff. What furniture does Nick Fury have? Does he have an island in his kitchen? Can he cook?
5. What is Rhodey’s relationship like with Nick Fury in the series?
James “Rhodey” Rhodes (played by Don Cheadle) will appear in the series. The actor talks about what Rhodey has been up to and his relationship with Nick Fury.
Don Cheadle: I think we’re just finding out what’s happening with Rhodey as this series goes on. He’s in a different role. We see him as more of a political animal than we have in the past. He’s been more of the military man, but now he’s in some ways the right hand of the President and the special envoy in that regard. But I think what I’m looking forward to is just seeing more, getting under the hood of who he is, and seeing how this relationship, not only with Nick Fury but the other cast members evolves. Again, as Ben (Mendelsohn) said, no spoilers, but it’s going to be some fun stuff.
Samuel L. Jackson chimes in about never having any in-depth scenes with Cheadle until this series.
Samuel L. Jackson: We’ve been waiting to do this for years and years and years. It was wonderful to do and to have that little abrasive thing happen there. It’s great and nice to know that we have that relationship, or I assumed it was that.
Don Cheadle: I’ve known Sam for a long time and we’ve spent a lot of time talking about what it would be like to work together, looking for projects to do together. The central relationship between myself and Sam, and this was very important to me, and I was very glad to be brought on. I don’t think it was originally conceived that Rhodey was going to be in this, but when it came to me and Sam called, I was really excited about leaning into it. Also, being in a show like this that’s really a departure from what I have been in as far as the genre goes. It’s really an opportunity to act and really lean into some human stuff, which was also a lot of fun. As Emilia said, as Olivia said, as Kingsley said, as Ben said, this is a great cast. Ali was a great director, a great leader. It was just all upside, and I was very happy to look into who Rhodey is and to probe that more and find out what really makes him tick.
Cobie Smulders reprises her role as agent Maria Hill in the spy-thriller series, and talks about Maria’s relationship with Fury and what it’s like to work with Samuel L. Jackson
Cobie Smulders: Working with Sam is my favorite thing, it’s true. It was really exciting to come back. But speaking again about strain, I think the relationship is quite strained because she’s been calling, and he hasn’t been answering.
The actress touches on how Maria Hill was also affected by the Blip and how that affected her state-of-mind.
Cobie Smulders: I think Maria Hill came back and someone else was sitting in her desk, and immediately kicked them out and got to work. I think there was just a mountain of cases to get to, which is a part of her resentment toward Fury because he was not around.
Jackson added:
Samuel L Jackson: Well, yeah, it definitely has a mental health effect on you, and it causes a different rift between you and the people that you’ve been around or people that you’re supposed to be close to. I mean, like I said, I hadn’t been returning her calls. There are a few other people that I hadn’t been calling back either.
Olivia Colman joins the cast of ‘Secret Invasion’ as Sonya Falsworth. The actress talks about being a part of the MCU, who Sonya is, and her dynamic with Nick Fury.
Olivia Colman: After every Marvel film that landed in cinemas, I phoned my agent and said, “Please, could I be in a Marvel movie.” Finally, either she got fed up of me calling her, or it happened. It wasn’t why ‘Secret Invasion’? ‘Secret Invasion’ called, and without any mention of the word “Marvel” I went, “Yes, please.” That’s why. I had an absolute ball and it lived up to everything that I was hoping for.
On the dynamic between Sonya and Nick Fury:
Olivia Colman: I was just so excited to meet Samuel L. Jackson. They have a lovely friendship, although she does quite like to bully you with her heavies. It doesn’t strike me as much of a friendship, but they’ve got history. They trust each other, which I think I’m allowed to say.
Coleman talks a little more about who Sonya is:
Olivia Colman: Sonya works for MI6. She likes wearing red and she’s quite funny and she’s potentially a little bit not that nice sometimes.
Samuel L. Jackson adds:
Samuel L. Jackson: And possibly the most dangerous woman in the UK. She lives in a dark corner of the UK and nobody can access it.
Another newcomer to the MCU is Emilia Clarke, who is no stranger to major franchises and being tight-lipped on spoilers. The actress talks about her experience working with Ben Mendelsohn, given the relationship between the two characters.
Emilia Clarke: I just love Ben. I love working with Ben. It was so much fun. It was really easy because obviously, we are playing. There’s tension all over the shop, but there is obviously a deep familiarity, shorthand and knowledge of each other that it’s just so easy and free acting with Ben, and it was just gorgeous.
Mendelsohn remained cryptic on where we find Talos in the series, but he touches on the current mindset of Talos and his relationship with Nick Fury.
Ben Mendelsohn: We’re finding Talos in a difficult time. It’s a bad time. By the way, (Nick Fury) up there? We could have used him. I’m just saying he’s been away a bit, the mate, you know?
Played by Kingsley Ben-Adir, Gravik is a Skrull and an original character created for the series. The actor talks about exploring this brand-new character.
Kingsley Ben-Adir: I think we had many conversations for hours at the beginning. I guess like Gravik, I didn’t really trust why anything was coming to me, but he just felt like a part that I hadn’t been approached for before. There was an opportunity to do something a little bit different with this one. I just wanted to make him as unsentimental as possible. There’s something interesting about how much he hates Nick, and that was really enticing.
10. ‘Secret Invasion’ is not just a superhero story
(L to R) Kingsley Ben-Adir, Ben Mendelsohn, Samuel L. Jackson, Emilia Clarke, Olivia Colman, Don Cheadle, Cobie Smulders, Dermot Mulroney, and director Ali Selim at the red carpet premiere of Marvel Studios’ ‘Secret Invasion.’
Director Ali Selim talks about the inspiration for the tone of the show
Ali Selim: Well, I think it’s a very human show. It’s the Nick Fury story. He’s a human. He does have his own version of superpowers, but they’re not like superhero superpowers. It’s a story about him putting his feet back on the ground once again after some time. I like that because I like human stories that come from the heart, and are human-scaled and reach for a universal appeal rather than the reverse of that. I liked the espionage political thriller element, and we went back to look at ‘The Third Man’ and ‘The Conversation’ and things like that, that are very grounded, real and human. I hope that we brought enough of that to create the tone. Then, without a spoiler alert, I think there is a point in the story where Nick Fury realizes this is his own battle, and he becomes a classic American Western hero. The tone shifted in the later episodes to Nick Fury as John Wayne.
Director Ali Selim speaks more about how the series delves into human emotions and the personal and inner life of Nick Fury.
Ali Selim: Well, I think it’s the script which was brilliantly written. I think it’s the fact that it’s the Nick Fury story rather than a superhero story. I think it’s the fact that it really tried to delve into very simple human emotions like trust and suspicion, and the personal life of Nick Fury and the inner life of Nick Fury. It’s very different than people flying through the air.
Samuel L Jackson: See, but I don’t think it’s just a Nick Fury story because we got all these other interesting people that are flowing around through it. It’s a Gravik story, it’s Emilia’s story, and it’s Olivia’s story. It’s all these people that are being introduced that make you want to say, well, I want to go home with them too and see what’s happening.
‘Secret Invasion’ premieres with its first episode on Disney+ on June 21, 2023.
Premiering on Disney+ beginning June 21st is the new six-episode Marvel series ‘Secret Invasion,’ which is based on the popular comic book storyline of the same name and is the first MCU series of Phase Five.
What is the plot of ‘Secret Invasion’?
In Marvel Studios’ new series ‘Secret Invasion,’ set in the present day MCU, Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) learns of a clandestine invasion of Earth by a faction of shapeshifting Skrulls. Fury joins his allies, including Everett Ross (Martin Freeman), Maria Hill (Cobie Smulders), James Rhodes (Don Cheadle) and the Skrull Talos (Ben Mendelsohn), who has made a life for himself on Earth. Together they race against time to thwart an imminent Skrull invasion and save humanity.
In the first two episodes, ‘Secret Invasion’ sets up an interesting character-driven espionage thriller that captures the paranoia of the original comic book storyline. Much like ‘Captain America: Civil War’ the new series is only an adaption in the broadest strokes, using the well-established Marvel Cinematic Universe as a launching-off point for a similar but not exactly identical story. Returning MCU actors Samuel L. Jackson and Ben Mendelsohn lead a strong ensemble cast, which also includes a charming and delightful performance from Oscar-winner Olivia Colman.
2008’s ‘Secret Invasion’ was a groundbreaking Marvel Comics crossover event that saw the Marvel heroes fighting a war with the shapeshifting alien race known as the Skrulls, who had systematically over the course of several years secretly invaded Earth by replacing many well-known Marvel characters, including members of The Avengers and the X-Men. The tagline for the series was: “Who do you trust?”
Marvel studios takes a smaller, yet similar approach with Disney+’s ‘Secret Invasion,’ which is not on as big a scale as the overreaching comic book storyline was. Instead, the series wisely takes only the idea from the comic book and then applies it to what has already been established in the MCU, similar to other Marvel “adaptions” like ‘Civil War.’ The series is more of an espionage thriller like ‘Captain America: The Winter Soldier,’ and is surprisingly very character-driven with some of its best moments coming from exploring Nick Fury and Talos’ long friendship as established in ‘Captain Marvel.’
The series begins with an American spy confronting a well-known MCU character with his theory that the Skrulls that Fury secretly let live on Earth have formed a terrorist organization that has infiltrated the highest ranks in governments across the world and plans to take the planet for their own. After laughing off this possibility, the MCU character is revealed to be a Skrull, and kills the agent. We then cut to Talos (Mendelsohn) who is working with Maria Hill (Smulders), and quickly contact Nick Fury (Jackson) to return to Earth from space, where he has been since the Blip (following the events of ‘Avengers: Endgame’).
Once reunited with Talos and Hill, Fury learns that Talos has been fired from the Skrull council, and that a Skrull named Gravik (Ben-Adir) is the leader of the terrorists, which also includes Talos’ daughter G’iah (Clarke) as a member. Talos learns of where Gravik is planning his next attack, while Fury visits an old ally, high-ranking MI6 agent Sonya Falsworth (Colman), but she is unwilling to work with him and tells Fury to stand down.
Fury, Talos and Hill try to stop the attack but fail. Fury is blamed internationally instead and soon learns that there are more Skrulls on Earth than he previously believed. Not knowing who to trust, Fury reaches out to James Rhodes (Cheadle), and warns him of the impending invasion, but the US government wants to wash its hands of Fury. Meanwhile, we learn that Fury has a secret of his own, and so does Gravik, who is working on an experiment to make Skrulls stronger.
The long friendship, as established in ‘Captain Marvel,’ between Fury and Talos is at the heart of the series. In the first two episodes, the series digs deep into their past showing us post-‘Captain Marvel’ moments that better explains the long alliance between Fury and the Skrulls, and the secret betrayals from both sides that have led to this moment. Some of the best moments of the first two episodes are the quitter, character-driven scenes that dive into that relationship and both characters’ pasts.
Samuel L. Jackson definitely leads the series with his commanding gravitas, and after more than a decade of playing the character in a supporting role, it’s nice to see Jackson and Fury front and center of this story. Make no mistakes, this is Sam Jackson’s series! But Ben Mendelsohn is equally good as Talos, and again, the character is central to the story. He has some wonderful scenes with Jackson, as well as Emilia Clarke as his misguided daughter G’iah, last played by Auden L. Ophuls and Harriet L. Ophuls in ‘Captain Marvel.’ Originally teased as a villain, Talos has become one of my favorite MCU characters, thanks to Mendelsohn’s thoughtful and funny performance.
Other Retuning MCU Characters
MCU regulars Cobie Smulders, Don Cheadle and Martin Freeman return as Maria Hill, James Rhodes, and Everett K. Ross, respectively, but all have limited roles, at least in the first two episodes. It’s also worth mentioning that the MCU has a new US President, as President Matthew Ellis (William Sadler), last seen in ‘Iron Man 3,’ has been replaced with Dermot Mulroney’s President Ritson.
While technically not a new character, Emilia Clarke makes her MCU debut as Talos’ daughter G’iah. Clarke seems fine in the role and has some nice moments with Mendelsohn, but other than running around, is not given a lot to do in the first two episodes, although I expect her role to get bigger throughout the rest of the series. Kingsley Ben-Adir plays Gravik and is certainly menacing in the role, but is a little too one note. Episode two attempts to flesh-out his backstory, and I hope there is more of that in the series and it can humanize the character a bit more so he’s not just evil for evil’s sake. But much like many fans have thought since ‘Avengers: Infinity War,’ “Was Thanos right?” The character does make a strong argument for his actions, from his point of view.
But the breakout new character of the series is definitely Olivia Colman’s Sonya Falsworth. The character is unassuming, quite charming, and extremely dangerous, and Colman plays her with glee. Her interactions with Fury early on cement her place in the new MCU power structure, and tells the audience that she is not to be trusted. Is she a hero? Is she a villain? Is she a Skrull? Who knows? But Coleman is delicious in the role and clearly having fun with the part.
The short answer is that anyone in the series could be! As previously mentioned, a longstanding MCU character is revealed at the beginning of the series to be a Skrull. However, I do not believe that character has always been a Skrull, like it was in the comics. I think they were just a Skrull in this one appearance, but that could be proven wrong down the line. I don’t think the series will reveal, let’s say, that Tony Stark was always a Skrull, or something like that. But part of the fun of the comic book, and in turn this series, is that it keeps the audience guessing the entire time and raises our feelings of paranoia.
After two episodes I already have some theories, but honestly, like I said before, anyone could be a Skrull! I thought Rhodey was acting a little suspect when he met with Fury, but then again, Fury is definitely keeping a secret himself. It’s also possible that there is more than one Fury, and that Sam Jackson is not always playing that character in ‘Secret Invasion’ when we see him. Only time will tell if that is true. Other suspects? Definitely President Ritson, my “Spidey-Sense” tells me they would not have cast an actor like Dermot Mulroney in an insignificant role. Also suspect, Sonya Falsworth, she’s hiding something too but that could be a red herring. One of the strengths of the show is that it will keep you invested by keeping you guessing as the series goes on.
Ultimately, it’s hard to say. Unlike its comic book counterpart, the series is not a huge scale crossover event, instead ‘Secret Invasion’ seems like a side-story that is taking place in the shadows. It’s probably setting up a future Marvel project, possibly the next ‘Avengers’ movie, and its conclusion should have some ramifications moving forward. But I’m guessing, since this seems like a smaller, character-driven series, that it will mostly just affect Nick Fury and his role moving forward. While the Avengers and other heroes are name dropped, it’s explained why they cannot help in this matter, and however the series concludes, it will be interesting to see if this storyline crosses over to any other future projects.
Final Thoughts
‘Secret Invasion,’ in the first two episodes, sets up an intriguing spy-thriller of a series, which is brilliantly led by Samuel L. Jackson’s Nick Fury. Ben Mendelsohn and Olivia Colman give strong supporting performances in this character-driven Marvel series that will keep you guessing the whole time.
The first two episodes of ‘Secret Invasion’ receives 8.5 out of 10 stars.
