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The newest Marvel Cinematic Universe entry is chugging along on Disney Plus, with Secret Invasion close to wrapping its six-episode run. The series follows MCU mainstay Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) as he uncovers that there are more Skrulls on Earth than he originally thought and that they have infiltrated most of the world’s governments. For a series focusing on one of the most interesting characters in the MCU, you’d think nobody would be able to stop talking about it, but nobody is. The first episode of the series failed to get one million views within the first five days. With such an iconic Marvel storyline and one of the most veteran MCU characters at the forefront, it’s weird that Marvel didn’t make a Secret Invasion movie instead of a series. After all, wouldn’t that have made Secret Invasion more successful?
Why Would Secret Invasion Have Been Better as a Movie?
First of all, Secret Invasion has a budget of $212 million. So, in theory, if everybody who watched it on Disney Plus in the first five days subscribed to the service, it wouldn’t have made anywhere close to the production budget. But that’s not counting international viewership, so we don’t know exactly how unsuccessful or successful Secret Invasion is. They could have made the movie with the same amount of money, with a bigger emphasis on marketing. The lowest worldwide box office in the MCU was with The Incredible Hulk, which made $265 million. Captain America: The First Avenger is next with $370 million. A more recent example comes next, with Black Widow earning $379 million amid the Covid-19 pandemic. Needless to say, if Secret Invasion was conceptualized as a film instead, it most likely would have made back its budget and much more.
One of the only talking points about the series during its premiere, rightfully so, was that the opening credits were made with AI. There is a strong chance that the credits of a film version wouldn’t have been made with AI, considering that most of the movies don’t have a long opening credits sequence. In fact, most of them have quite stylistic closing credits, so it’s likely that Secret Invasion would have had the same. If it didn’t start off with such negative publicity, Secret Invasion surely would have been more successful.
What Would Have Changed if It Wasn’t a Disney Plus Series, but a Movie Instead?
Marvel would have had to change one element of the storytelling; they couldn’t throw so many cliffhangers into a movie. Indeed, they might have been able to translate a few of the big deaths in the series for a film, but big parts of the script would have to change. Approximately half of the time would have needed to be cut too, which might severely impact the pacing of the story. But that could allow for more of the budget to be allocated to getting more MCU names, giving the Skrull storyline a bit more impact. At least it would have made for a tighter adaptation, theoretically leading to a more successful Secret Invasion.
The switch might have changed the quality of Secret Invasion, which at the time of writing, is pretty good. Still, with how good the show is, you can’t help but wonder if a big-screen version might have worked more in Marvel’s favor. Either way, we’ll never find out because you can catch Secret Invasion on Disney Plus right now.
