Secret Invasion started off with a bang by revealing that Martin Freeman's former CIA Agent Everett Ross was, in fact, a Skrull imposter. We don't know how long that had been the case, but the alien who took on his form died after a run-in with Talos.
Ross is presumably among the humans being held captive in Gravik's compound, and in a recent interview with Collider, Freeman shared his thoughts on his character being outed as a shape-shifter.
He started by revealing whether the Ross we saw go rogue in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever may have been this same Skrull.
"No, we had a conversation about it. Put it this way, I wasn’t playing anything in 'Black Panther: Wakanda Forever' as a Skrull. I wasn’t thinking, 'I’m a Skrull,' 'Secret Invasion' and 'Wakanda Forever' were definitely overlapping, chronologically, but I was never given a full definitive party line."
"I don’t wanna play Ross as Skrull. I don’t wanna believe he’s been a Skrull this whole time, so I don’t. That’s not what I’ve played. I’ve believed, all the time, in Ross’s integrity, actually...I’ve enjoyed playing him as an organic human man, so I don’t wanna lose him to Skrulldom. So, no, Ross, for me, is not a Skrull."
It wouldn't actually make sense for Ross to have been a Skrull this whole time as his actions have been largely heroic in nature. Sure, you could argue that Gravik might have turned him, but then it would undermine what we learned about his history with Val in the Black Panther sequel.
Like Rhodey, it appears Ross was switched out prior to his last appearance and when Secret Invasion begins.
It's a shame that we haven't learned of any Skrulls who have been pulling the MCU's strings for years without us knowing, but the frantic nature of the Multiverse Saga appears to have had an impact on Marvel Studios' ability to plan that far ahead.
Are you hoping the real Everett Ross eventually makes his return?