Secret Invasion got off to a strong start on Disney+ with some big twists, a compelling premise, and a fantastic performance from Samuel L. Jackson. Unfortunately, the show's quality declined after those first two instalments and the finale was, for lack of a better word, dreadful.
Now the worst-reviewed MCU TV series, it's clear something went wrong, but the extent of the show's issues have been revealed by The Hollywood Reporter.
According to the trade, Mr. Robot's Kyle Bradstreet had been working on Secret Invasion's scripts for roughly a year when he was fired. Marvel Studios had decided to head in a different direction and turned to Brian Tucker (Broken City), Thomas Bezucha (Let Him Go), and Ali Selim (The Looming Tower) to crack the story.
That's pretty much the norm for Marvel Studios, but "in the summer of 2022, debilitated the production as factions became entrenched and leaders vied for supremacy during Secret Invasion’s preproduction in London. 'It was weeks of people not getting along, and it erupted,' says an insider."
Jonathan Schwartz, a senior executive at Marvel Studios and a member of its creative Parliament, was sent to get the show back on track and by September 2022, much of the show's creative team was gone. The executive tasked with overseeing the show, Chris Gary, was reassigned and is now expected to leave the company.
Other Disney+ TV shows said to have suffered similar problems include Moon Knight and She-Hulk: Attorney at Law. In the latter's case, while Jessica Gao developed and wrote the show, she was sidelined when director Kat Coiro came on board.
Moving forward, it's said the idea is to tell more personal stories. Echo, for example, "is a grounded crime story with few visual effects." As for Wonder Man, "[it's] meant to be a behind-the-scenes look at Hollywood and a character study of Simon Williams, a superhero who has a side gig as an actor and stuntperson."
These details come after news broke earlier today that Marvel Studios is going back to the drawing board with Daredevil: Born Again. The show is being completely rebooted from a creative level and will enlist a new creative team to start from scratch. Thankfully, it sounds like the plan is to address many of the issues mentioned throughout this story.
As for Secret Invasion, despite the show being billed as an important new chapter in the saga of the Skrulls, we're hearing it's not even referenced in The Marvels.
Stay tuned for updates.