Anyone know the Russian term for "get hyped"?
From dark symbolism to a mysterious portable cryochamber, here's everything you missed
in the "Secret Invasion" trailer.
Drips of information about the upcoming Marvel series "Secret Invasion" have found their
way to the public via both news outlets and other MCU films since it was first announced
by Disney in December of 2020.
Samuel Jackson and Cobie Smulders will star as Nick Fury and Maria Hill in their third
MCU series together on top of his nine and her six appearances in the film universe.
"Yeah, well…this is different."
We also have been long aware that Ben Mendelsohn will make his third showing in the Marvel
universe as the Skrull Talos.
In the "Spider Man: Far From Home" post-credits scene, it's revealed that Fury and Hill were
actually Talos and fellow Skrull Soren throughout the events of that film; they call the real
Fury, who is seen sunning himself on a virtual reality beach from the safety of a Skrull
ship.
He jumps to his feet to look for his shoes, declaring himself ready for action and presumably
kicking off the events of "Secret Invasion."
Disney+ just released the first teaser courtesy of D23, and while it's less than two minutes
long, it does provide some additional clues as to what the series has in store.
In one brief sequence, Talos questions Kingsley Ben-Adir's unknown character in a casual dining
hall surrounded by diners and a handful of floor-to-ceiling portraits of several historical
figures all tagged as "the faces of freedom."
As Talos moves to threaten Ben-Adir, the innocuous-looking crowd all morphs into copies of the villain
and stands ominously around Talos.
The action takes place in the National Gallery in London, and at least some of the photos
in the background are indeed real.
Over on the left you can see Winston Churchill – that is from a real painting done by Sir
William Orpen in 1916.
It certainly is painting the appearance – no pun intended – that the Skrulls have been
present throughout history and perhaps some of the most famous “faces of freedom”
were actually Skrulls.
Okay, the pun was intended there…
In one very brief sequence, Fury rests on a leaf-covered brick patio with one foot propped
up on a dingy fountain base or birdbath, looking up at a raven perched in a tree above him.
Fury looks like he is stopping to catch his breath, and a raven appearing overhead can't
make him feel any better about whomever or whatever is chasing him.
Ravens are most commonly associated with either impending doom or a tragedy in the near past,
but according to World Birds:
"Raven symbolism is also tied to shape-shifters and they are thought to be spell-casters."
The raven could be signaling to Fury that something terrible is either just about to
happen or has just gone down; or it could be a Skrull, hovering there over Fury and
watching him.
Whether the bird appears to provide assistance or surveillance is also not yet completely
clear, although Fury does at least appear to be allied with Talos throughout the entire
trailer, so he presumably has at least a few Skrull buddies on his side.
"We gotta be very careful now."
It's not entirely clear where "Secret Invasion" will take place, but sharp eyes will no-doubt
catch a couple of clues pointing to a few Russian locations.
On the door of the bar where Fury meets Hill for the first time in many years hangs a printout
of a sign with Russian wording on it that translates roughly to "Thank you for not smoking!"
Later, there is an explosion in Moscow's Red Square next to a lamppost banner with the
Russian word for "native" above another partially legible word.
In the most ominous appearance of Russian text, an unidentifiable agent that could be
Hill opens a door to a large round room where workers are welding together some sort of
giant framework over a raised platform.
The lettering for the middle word on the frosted glass isn't quite readable, but the other
two words translate to "outside" and "prohibited."
Near the very end of the trailer, we see a long motorcade of black government limousines
and an armored car with police escorts at the front and rear.
The camera then jumps back to show a helicopter and two missiles headed right for the caravan.
One of the missiles hits its target, and the SUV is launched into the air — to the horror
of the stunned driver.
We don't know for sure who the VIP is who warrants all this attention — both protective
and antagonistic — but in typical Marvel fashion, government agencies appear to play
a big role in "Secret Invasion."
Aside from whomever rides in the mystery motorcade, Don Cheadle is back as James Rhodes of the
U.S. Air Force and is shown surrounded by the standard assortment of military men, including
a couple of military police officers.
We also see two officers from the Department of Damage Control carefully approach and open
what looks like a portable cryogenic chamber.
Like in pretty much every other segment of the teaser trailer, the scene jumps to another
one before we get any real idea what is happening, but this first tantalizing look at "Secret
Invasion" will certainly spark plenty of anticipation ahead of the Spring 2023 release.