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Secret Invasion shocked fans before the series even debuted on Disney Plus, with the opening minutes of the Marvel Cinematic Universe series releasing online before the premiere and revealing Agent Everett K. Ross was a Skrull. Martin Freeman, who plays Ross in the MCU, breaks his silence on what this means for his character.

The reveal that Everett Ross was a Skrull in Secret Invasion shocked many fans, primarily due to how emotional Black Panther: Wakanda Forever had been just a few months prior. It’s hard to believe that such a beloved MCU character was a Skrull the whole time. It seems as though Martin Freeman doesn’t believe it either:

“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,” He told Collider. “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.”

Given the context of Everett Ross burning bridges with the US government in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever just for the sake of his friends, it’s not likely he’s been a Skrull for long in the MCU timeline. It’s likely that the events of Secret Invasion episode 1 were completely divorced from Everett Ross as a character, with the Skrull impersonating him only doing it for the job, similar to Gravik only briefly impersonating Samuel L. Jackson’s Nick Fury the following episode. Though regardless of how alien Ross has been throughout the years, fans still seem to love the character.

How Marvel is adapting Secret Invasion

Secret Invasion is based on the comic book storyline of the same name, which was created by Brian Michael Bendis and Leinil Francis Yu. The story revolves around a group of Skrulls, an alien race that has the ability to shape-shift and take on the appearance of anyone they want. The Skrulls have infiltrated Earth’s society and are secretly replacing key figures with their own kind in order to take over the planet.

The full Secret Invasion cast also includes Cobie Smulders as Maria Hill, Kingsley Ben-Adir as Gravik, Emilia Clarke as G’iah, Don Cheadle as James “Rhodey” Rhodes and Martin Freeman as Everett K. Ross. Olivia Colman, Dermot Mulroney, Killian Scott, Christopher McDonald, Carmen Ejogo and Charlayne Woodard are also on board in undisclosed roles.

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