Marvel Director Quit Disney+ Show After Samuel L. Jackson Meeting
Written by Luck Wilson on June 19, 2023
Nick Fury actor Samuel L. Jackson has revealed a new reason why director Thomas Bezucha left Marvel’s Secret Invasion.
During the early stages of pre-production on Disney+’s Secret Invasion, it was reported that two directors would helm the MCU series: Ali Selim and Bezucha.
Selim (a TV director known for his work on Hulu’s The Looming Tower) ultimately took over the entire show as director of the six-part event series.
Jackson, Ben Mendelsohn, Emilia Clark, Olivia Coleman, and MCU veteran Cobie Smulders all star in the series, which is off to “a solid start” according to reviews.
Secret Invasion Director Quit After Samuel L. Jackson Meeting
In a recent promotional interview with Collider, Samuel L. Jackson revealed with a laugh that director Thomas Bezucha exited Marvel Studios’ Secret Invasion the day after they met:
“Interestingly enough when I first started [Secret Invasion] Ali [Selim] was one of two directors. And I met with him (Selim) and then I met with the other director and the next day the other director (Bezucha) had quit.”
Co-star Olivia Coleman (also a part of the interview) teased Jackson, “Was it you?”
Jackson replied, “I had no idea what I said to him. I asked my assistant, ‘Did I say something that scared him or what?'”
In retrospect, Jackson seemed thankful that the directing situation turned out as it did, with Selim directing all six Secret Invasion episodes as Jackson reprised his long-standing role as Nick Fury.
Jackson explained that having only one director gave them “consistency of idea or concept:”
“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 Joins WandaVision, Falcon and Winter Soldier, & Loki
Matt Shakmanm Kate Herron, and Kari Skogland were in full directorial control of WandaVision, Loki, and The Falcon and the Winter Solider, respectively.
Herron will not return for Season 2 of Loki and Shakman is now directing the upcoming Fantastic 4 film.
Selim joins them as the only solo director of a live-action MCU Disney+ series. Based on the Loki and WandaVision, this may be a good sign as those are two of the highest-rated Marvel shows since 2021.
The “consistency” that Jackson spoke of may be especially important for this series, which is being marketed as an event set in the present-day MCU.
Soon audiences will be able to make their own opinion of Secret Invasion (off to low 67% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes) and determine if Selim was successful as the love director.
Secret Invasion begins streaming on Disney+ on Wednesday, June 21.
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