Secret Invasion: Where Does The Nick Fury-Led Series Fit In The MCU Timeline?

When you have a franchise like the Marvel Cinematic Universe that spans over a decade and pushes three dozen projects, including movies, series, and one-shots, it can get a little complicated to know when everything takes place and how it all puzzles together in the overarching timeline. With Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) going up against one of the older foes in the franchise, the question of when his new series, "Secret Invasion," takes place is a valid one. 

Fortunately, during a press conference for the show, Marvel President Kevin Feige was able to clear up the timeline question and revealed it takes place in the here and now, meaning that when the series drops, it will be the most recent event that happened in the MCU. That means that the Skrulls have been hiding out in the MCU since the beginning, making us wonder what they have been up to and what they have been planning. 

The last time Fury came face to face with the Skrulls was in "Captain Marvel," when the super spy first realized we weren't alone in the universe. He found himself in the middle of a battle that brought the Tesseract and the Skrulls to Earth, setting up events that would shape the landscape of the MCU moving forward. But Feige's answer could also hint that there's more to his answer than we realize. 

There are so many questions about the series. What is the future of newcomers like Emilia Clarke and Olivia Colman? Why did the Skrulls sit out the Thanos threat? But the question we want to know was posed to Feige. "It's present-day MCU," Feige said when asked where the series fits into the franchise. "It's what we're calling it. So it exists basically along the timeline of the shows. Post 'She-Hulk,' post blip. Right at this exact, present day in the MCU. That is all I can say."

The last sentence is a curious addition to the statement. It seems like a simple and straightforward answer, taking place in the here and now. Just saying that it happens present day is a complete answer. But the addition of the last sentence makes us think there is possibly more to the answer that could spoil something for the fans if he went deeper. Maybe the series takes place in multiple timelines, with flashbacks to Fury interacting with Skrulls over the years. Perhaps we see a future without Nick Fury, signaling this is it for the super spy.

Samuel L. Jackson can be heard asking Feige if that is an answer, which lends even more credit to the idea that there is more to the question of where this takes place. We will have to wait and see, but Feige and Jackson's coyness about the answer leads us to believe there is more to the timeline than is being presented.