Secret Invasion Director Dreading Threats Over Tony Stark Death Twist

The can of worms left following "Secret Invasion" has wriggled its way through various corners of the MCU in ways fans didn't anticipate prior to release or aren't particularly happy about. Besides giving Emilia Clarke's G'iah all the powers, there was also the twist that felt as hard to spot as a Helicarrier. Theorized by audiences early on in the game, we learned James "Rhodey" Rhodes (Don Cheadle) was a Skrull. The only question was just how long he'd been that way.

The timing was everything, and according to the show's director, Ali Selim, it was also a crucial detail to the man behind the Skrull. "He's a great collaborator," explained Selim to The Hollywood Reporter regarding working with Cheadle. "He was a detailed, logical guy who would not say, 'How long have I been ... ?' But he would say, 'Let me tell you why I could've been, and let me tell you why I couldn't have been,' which is an interesting way to get at his character." 

The ending of "Secret Invasion" implies Rhodey has been out of action since "Captain America: Civil War," and therefore missed the passing and funeral of his dear friend, Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.). With that emotional knife twist, Selim prepped for the worst from fans. "I'm worried that I will get death threats because of that and also because I'm the guy who took out Maria Hill. So I'm actually going into hiding now."

Making Rhodey a Skrull was a green-tinted game-changer and a chance for Don Cheadle to have fun with the character in a whole new way. Speaking to Marvel following the reveal, the star, who had been part of Marvel Cinematic Universe since 2010, admitted, "It's fun to fold that in and know that that's what's happening underneath all of these Rhodey scenes. Rhodes is not who he appears to be."

Though fans caught on sooner than they may have hoped, Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige said Cheadle was all for the pointy-eared plot twist from the off. "We needed to have a character that one would not expect to be a Skrull," he explained. "Don was on board for this reveal of playing and revealing another side of Rhodey and revealing that, yeah, Rhodey has been a Skrull."

Now that Nick Fury's gunned down the Skrull imposter, all that's left is for Rhodey to pick up where he left off and take the emotional and mental hits that will come with it. Chances are that we'll see the fallout in his solo big-screen outing, "Armor Wars," where he'll be teaming up with Ironheart (Dominque Thorne), who will have had her own Disney+ show by then. We just feel sorry for anyone that winds up in their sights.