One of the most hotly anticipated Marvel Cinematic Universe shows in the works for Disney Plus is undoubtedly Secret Invasion, which is no mean feat when we’re also getting Oscar Isaac as Moon Knight, Tatiana Maslany as She-Hulk and a Black Panther spinoff set in Wakanda to name but three.
Part of that excitement is due to Samuel L. Jackson finally taking top billing in an MCU project after more than a decade as the franchise’s most prominent exposition machine, while the star-studded ensemble has been filling out nicely over the last couple of months following the additions of Happy Gilmore‘s Christopher McDonald, One Night in Miami‘s Kingsley Ben-Adir, Game of Thrones veteran Emilia Clarke and Academy Award winner Olivia Colman.
Insider Grace Randolph has now shed some admittedly vague light on how the latter two stars could factor into the sci-fi superhero streaming series, and in Clarke’s case, it wouldn’t be the first time we’ve heard her mentioned in conjunction with Abigail Brand.
Okay here’s some Friday #MCU tea re #SecretInvasion:
– Olivia Colman is a villain
– Emilia Clarke is a spy, likely Agent Brand working her way up pic.twitter.com/VoUCMUXbzN
— Grace Randolph (@GraceRandolph) June 4, 2021
Touting Colman as the big bad is certainly a 50/50 shot, and while it’d see her venture outside of her wheelhouse given that she’s never tended to play straight-up villains, as one of the best actresses in the business, it’s not as if she wouldn’t be able to pull it off.
Of course, literally anybody could be on either side given that Secret Invasion is poised to revolve around a race of nefarious shapeshifting extraterrestrials attempting to mount a stealthy takeover of Earth, with Fury even sending one in his stead throughout the entirety of Spider-Man: No Way Home, but setting Clarke up as future head of S.W.O.R.D. Abigail Brand would be in keeping with the MCU’s proven strategy of casting with the long game in mind.