“His departure was a little ill timed for Marvel”: MCU Producer Reveals Why Original ‘Secret Invasion’ Director Quit the Show Amid Backlash From the Fans

"His departure was a little ill timed for Marvel": MCU Producer Reveals Why Original 'Secret Invasion' Director Quit the Show Amid Backlash From the Fans
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When Marvel decided to release Iron Man in 2008, it marked the beginning of one of the most successful superhero franchises, as they illustrated a compelling storyline. The MCU understood what the fans wanted and had a clear long vision, carefully interconnecting the storylines so that they can have a groundbreaking Phase finale. The franchise was committed to being successful as it brought on several proficient filmmakers, writers, and actors who were not big shots in the industry.

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Poster of Marvel's Secret Invasion
Poster of Marvel’s Secret Invasion

Since 2008 Marvel Studios have released 32 films and it is showing no signs of slowing down, as it is in Phase Five featuring various upcoming projects. However, the franchise is starting to suffer from its success as it can not replicate what it had in 2019. As a result, its newest production Secret Invasion suffered too, as amid online backlash from fans one of the directors of the show decided to break ties with the project.

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Marvel’s Secret Invasion’s Director Quit The Production Pre-Filming

Marvel found the directors of Secret Invasion in 2021 with Ali Selim and Thomas Bezucha, but the latter quit the project four months before the project was meant to shoot. Recently, Ali Selim was present on The Playlist Podcast Network, where he stated that Bezucha was meant to shoot the first three episodes of the series, and he was meant to shoot the last three.

A still from Secret Invasion
A still from Secret Invasion

“Well, when I came on, there were two of us. I was gonna do [Episodes] 4, 5, 6, and my friend, Tom Bezucha, was gonna do 1, 2, 3.”

Ali Selim added that they had prepared for the show, but Thomas Bezucha had to quit the show because of “scheduling constraints” with Fargo Season 5 as the show was “delayed a couple of times.”

“And then, he and I prepped for a while, but then we got into probably scheduling constraints for him or something, because I think the show got delayed a couple of times. And he had to depart for… He worked on ‘Fargo,’ this season of ‘Fargo.’ So, he had to depart for that.”

A still from Secret Invasion
A still from Secret Invasion

The Sweet Land director concluded that Bezucha’s departure was a “little ill-timed,” and how he ended up directing all six episodes of the show. Ultimately it “worked out well for the actors,” as there was only “one director tell that whole story.”

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“And it was great for me. I think maybe a little ill-timed… his departure was a little ill-timed for Marvel and so, I was part of the scramble to fill those episodes. But I think ultimately, like I said, it worked out well for me, and I think it worked out well for the actors. No complaints from Marvel, so I think they’re happy having one director tell that whole story.”

Bezucha’s allegedly scheduling constraint with Marvel raises questions by numerous fans because Marvel’s Secret Invasion started production in September 2021, whereas Fargo’s Season 5’s renewal was even announced in early 2022.

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Samuel L. Jackson Praises Secret Invasion’s Director

Most of Marvel’s TV Series are long movies cut down into several episodes, hence, having only one director for the episodes provides consistency to the show. During an exclusive interview with Collider, Samuel L. Jackson was full of praises for the director of the show, as Ali Selim provided the actors with a “consistency of idea or concept.” Hence, they were convinced to shape Secret Wars the way it was meant to be.

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Samuel L. Jackson in Secret Invasion
Samuel L. Jackson in Secret Invasion

“But I think it’s great that Ali stuck and I think it’s even greater that they allowed him to direct all the episodes. So it gave us a consistency of idea or concept that he had for what he wanted the show to be. So he was able to shape it in that particular way, or convince us that we were shaping it in a way that was our way, but turned out to be his way.”

Secret Invasion has been released at a critical time as fans have been criticizing the franchise for the declining quality of its storylines and the new heroes featured in Phase 4 are not living up to their hype. As a result, the show’s plot opened up several potential storylines, and fans can see a movie based on the series.

Also Read: Secret Invasion Director’s Cryptic Update Signals Star-Lord Was a Skrull in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3

Marvel’s Secret Invasion can be streamed on Disney+.

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Source: The Playlist Podcast Network

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Written by Tushar Auddy

Articles Published: 839

Tushar Auddy, Content Writer. He has been in the entertainment industry for 3 years and is always on the lookout for a captivating story. He is a student of Linguistics and currently pursuing his Master's degree in the same field. He has a passion for literature that runs deep and loves nothing more than getting lost in a novel for hours on end. When he isn't reading, you'll find him capturing the beauty of language.