Marvel’s Secret Invasion Gets Disappointing Runtime Update

According to the director of Marvel Studios’ latest streaming series Secret Invasion, some episodes won’t be as lengthy as others.

The newest MCU installment to arrive on the scene would, of course, be Secret Invasion. 

The six-episode thriller premiered its first episode on Wednesday, June 21, and showed audiences a version of Nick Fury who might not be as in control as he’s usually depicted.

Secret Invasion‘s Episode Runtimes Will Vary

Speaking to Phase Zero, Secret Invasion director Ali Selim revealed that some episodes of the MCU show will be “considerably shorter” than an hour long. 

Selim made this remark in response to a query over whether Marvel mandated specific episode runtimes:

“Yeah, it was very beautiful in that they’re not all an hour, some of them are considerably shorter. And it just allowed it to be what the story needs. And that’s a gift you don’t get very often.”

This could be seen as a bit dismaying for viewers, who were likely expecting six one-hour-long episodes. After all, it’s how the series was previously described by Empire.

In fact, the studios’ series have mostly gotten progressively shorter with 2021’s The Falcon and the Winter Soldier having an average episode length of 55 minutes, while Ms. Marvel’s episodes only ran 48 minutes on average. 

For reference, Secret Invasion’s series premiere “Ressurection” clocked in at 54 minutes when factoring in the end credits.

Does Secret Invasion Need To Be Longer?

With the varied episode lengths, it‘s basically confirmed that Secret Invasion will probably be significantly shorter than six hours in total. But should it have a longer runtime?

With only one episode having aired thus far, it’s difficult to say. In an ideal world, the number of minutes a show runs should correspond with the story that the creators wanted to tell. And as Ali Selim had said, that’s exactly how Marvel Studios allowed him to helm the series.

Plus, there’s always the potential of a television show being overly long. The people in charge can cram the episodes with too much of everything and the whole venture can just seem excessive. 

It appears that some Secret Invasion installments could be lean and mean, while others, like the premiere, will have a bit more meat on the bones with regards to how long they run. Hopefully, this will be deemed satisfactory by the fanbase.

At any rate, the show has already proved itself to be quite twisty, with some very unexpected developments taking place in its opening hour. And with the MCU having held off on giving Nick Fury a solo adventure until now, it’s an exciting opportunity to dig deep into what makes Samuel L. Jackson’s super spy tick.

Marvel Studios’ Secret Invasion drops new episodes on Wednesdays, exclusively on Disney+. Episode 2 debuts on Wednesday, June 28.