The Marvel Cinematic Universe is now knee-deep in the fifth phase of its Multiverse Saga with the Disney Plus series Secret Invasion and the motion picture film The Marvels among two of the projects set to premiere in 2023.
The former follows Samuel L. Jackson’s Nick Fury as he navigates an attempted invasion of the U.S. government from a group of radical Skrull extremists. The latter is a comedic cosmic body-swap romp (say that ten times fast) starring Carol Danvers (Brie Larson), Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris), and Kamala Khan (Iman Vellani) as they attempt to duke it out with an alien race MCU fans are all too familiar with — the Kree.
These two alien races, the Skrull and the Kree, shared the same screen in 2019’s Captain Marvel. Now, they are set to headline their own respective projects. Their continued presence in the MCU makes one wonder what Marvel has hidden up its sleeve, especially now that the storylines between these two alien races have traversed all the way from Phase 2 to Phase 5.
Could the storyline between the Kree and the Skrull go beyond just warfare and animosity? Could it be the catalyst for a dormant MCU storyline that’s been lurking under the surface for years? We’ll touch on all of that and more, but before we do, let’s do a quick refresher on who these alien races are.
Who are the Kree?
The Kree are aliens hellbent on ruthless domination and evolving their race. They’re often perceived as having blue skin, but that’s not always the case. They were first introduced in the 2014’s Guardians of the Galaxy in which Ronan the Accuser, a radicalized Kree, split from the empire to align with Thanos, but technically the events of that film happened decades after the Kree were first introduced to the MCU in Captain Marvel.
In Captain Marvel, the Kree weaponized Carol Danvers after she was imbued with the power from the Tesseract. The Kree wipe her mind, turn her into a super soldier, and convince her the Skrulls were evil and the antithesis of their race’s survival. Enter: the Kree-Skrull war.
Who are the Skrull?
The Skrulls are an alien race imbued with the power to shapeshift into whoever they want. Their shapeshifting abilities grant them access to the recent memories of whoever they shift into, meaning they can infiltrate virtually any planet and do it convincingly (cough, cough, Secret Invasion, cough cough).
Like the Kree, the Skrulls have appeared throughout the MCU numerous times, but the first time we met them was in Captain Marvel. At first, they were portrayed as villains hellbent on destabilizing the honorable work of the Kree, but over time we discovered they were actually the ones being persecuted. The Kree launched a genocidal attack on the Skrulls, and much of Captain Marvel centered around Carol Danvers reuniting Talos, the Skrull leader, with his family in an effort to relocate to a new home away from the Kree.
The Kree-Skull war and its connection to Secret Invasion and The Marvels
When Secret Invasion releases on Disney Plus this summer, it will be the result of several decades left waiting for Talos and Nick Fury to fulfill their promise of relocating the Skrulls to a new home planet. In the nearly 30 years that have passed since the events of Captain Marvel, an extremist Skrull faction has formed, and now they want to infiltrate the U.S. government and take matters into their own hands.
Then we have The Marvels. The movie has not unveiled its official plot yet, but per the film’s official teaser trailer, eagle-eye fans noted a similar-looking bangle on the wrist of Kree villain Zawe Ashton’s wrist, leading one to assume that the Kree have it out for Kamla for reasons currently unknown.
The Marvels is also the cinematic return of Samuel L. Jackson’s Nick Fury, who has been absent from the big and small screen since Spider-Man: Far From Home and even then, it wasn’t truly him; it was a Skrull. It’s not clear at the moment whether Secret Invasion will take place chronologically before or after The Marvels, but the assumption is that it will take place before, especially since the Disney Plus series is Fury’s big return, and we’re to assume his role in The Marvels is the real him and not a Skrull.
All that to say, Secret Invasion and The Marvels are not just stand-alone projects, not really. They intertwine a number of storylines including three unsuspecting superheroes and the former leader of S.H.I.E.L.D, but more importantly, the continued conversation around the Skrulls and the Kree. The thousands-year war between the two alien races might not be as over as we think it is, and if that’s the case, Marvel’s potential Young Avengers Easter egg could blow the whole thing wide open.
The possible MCU connection between the Skrull, the Kree, and the Young Avengers
Young Avengers, you say?
Clearly, Marvel is not done exploring the storyline between the Kree and the Skull, and now the only question is why? At present, it’s unclear what they have planned, but it’s clear they have something planned. If we’re to believe that Marvel is indeed setting the stage for Young Avengers, and we are, then one of the few members of the team that hasn’t already been introduced into the MCU is Hulkling, aka Theodore Altman.
Hulking is part-Kree, part-Skrull and his parents are Captain Marvel and Princess Anelle. Because the MCU version of Captain Marvel follows the story of Carol Danvers, it’s not quite clear yet how the MCU will factor Hulkling’s parentage into the picture, if they do at all.
The MCU has not confirmed the presence of the Young Avengers yet, nor Hulking as an official member, but given that all roads have somehow led to over half the team already existing in the MCU, it feels more like a “when” and less of an “if.” Keep in mind, Kevin Feige himself once said Marvel is “planting the seed,” and let’s not forget his viral reaction to Hailee Steinfeld accidentally letting slip that she’s excited for Kate Bishop to be a part of the Young Avengers.
Whether it’s in a post-credit scene at the end of The Marvels or a covert casing choice in Secret Invasion, you can bet our eyes will be on high alert for anything and everything possibly connecting the two projects to the Young Avengers. Consider us your go-to source.
Secret Invasion and The Marvels are set to premiere on Disney Plus and in movie theaters on June 21 and Nov. 10, respectively.
