Why Maria Hill was killed in Secret Invasion

❘ Published: 2023-09-26T12:17:51

Disney+

Secret Invasion includes the shocking death of Maria Hill, with one MCU producer explaining exactly why she had to die.

Marvel‘s Skrull-infused show Secret Invasion has been out on Disney+ for a while now, but that doesn’t mean that there’s not more to talk about.

The series follows this plot: “Nick Fury and Talos try to stop the Skrulls who have infiltrated the highest spheres of the Marvel Universe.” This is following the first appearance of the Skrulls in Captain Marvel, who weren’t quite as they appeared.

From cryptic posters to other forms of promotional material, the “Trust No One” ethos of the series shines through every aspect of it, including the death scene of one long-running character, Maria Hill. Her death came rather unexpectedly, especially since it came in the very first episode, but now we’re getting answers on why she had to die.

Why Maria Hill was killed off in the MCU

Despite Maria Hill (played by Cobie Smulders) being billed highly for Secret Invasion, and having an 11-year run in the MCU, she was shockingly killed off at the end of Episode 1. She was the first major casualty of the series, as Gravik took her out in Russia, disguised as Nick Fury.

In a recently released Marvel Studios Assembled documentary episode, Secret Invasion executive producer and writer Brian Tucker explained the motivations behind her death, mainly that it was to “really illustrate the scale and the reality of the danger” that the Skrulls posed:

“One of the kind of just most important decisions that we had to make early on was to really illustrate the scale and the reality of the danger that Gravik and his rebels pose to humans. And to do that, we couldn’t allow all of our characters to make it out safely.

“This is a contest for the planet. It’s being fought on the ground and it’s gonna be bloody. There will be casualties in this conflict, and that means making those tough decisions to say goodbye to beloved characters.”

This explanation comes after Secret Invasion director Ali Selim confirmed that Hill was fully dead during an interview with Entertainment Weekly, along with another character Talos. However, that might not mean the end: “I don’t know what’s going to happen to Maria Hill or Talos. They’re dead. One is burned, and the other is buried. But in the MCU, anything can happen. So, where are they going to end up? I don’t know.”

Secret Invasion is now streaming on Disney+. Check out our other coverage below: