Secret Invasion: Why The Original Co-Director Left The MCU Series

Whether you enjoyed the series or not, credit has to be given to the head of the Skrull infiltration in "Secret Invasion," director Ali Selim. Handling every episode of a six-part series is a big enough ask as it is. But when that show involves the talents of Samuel L. Jackson, Emilia Clarke, Ben Mendelsohn, Olivia Colman, and Kingsley Ben-Adir with the Marvel logo on the front, the pressure is understandably on. What's more, it wasn't originally meant to be that way for the Marvel Cinematic Universe's shape-shifting spy show.

During a recent appearance on The Playlist podcast, Bingeworthy, Selim explained that his directing duties were originally set to be split right down the middle between himself and his directing buddy, Tom Bezucha. "Well, when I came on, there were two of us. I was gonna do [Episodes] 4, 5, 6, and my friend, Tom Bezucha, was gonna do 1, 2, 3." Unfortunately, that never came to pass, thanks to Marvel's classic villain: scheduling conflicts. Bezucha ultimately set off for colder climates for the final season of "Fargo," starring Jon Hamm, but the two still had some time to work together on the project before going their separate ways. "He and I prepped for a while, but then we got into probably scheduling constraints for him or something because I think the show got delayed a couple of times. And he had to depart for ['Fargo']." That left Selim to step up and take on Marvel's alien invasion alone.

To his credit, the remaining brain behind "Secret Invasion" took it in stride, embracing the challenge as all true heroes do, albeit in a slight panic mode. Referring to his co-director's departure, Selim admitted. "It was great for me. I think maybe a little ill-timed. His departure was a little ill-timed for Marvel, and so, I was part of the scramble to fill those episodes." Left doing what was literally designed to be a two-person job, the pressure was on for Selim. Thankfully, the greater powers behind the big billion-dollar superhero world were totally chill about the whole thing. Selim revealed that there were "no complaints from Marvel, so I think they're happy having one director tell that whole story."

Tell it he did, and the ending of "Secret Invasion" left audiences with revelations that didn't just impact the show but the MCU as a whole, as these stories often do. You know the kind — the minor hiccup of the real James "Rhodes" Rhodes (Don Cheadle) having potentially been out of action since "Captain America: Civil War," or a new hero seemingly entering a god-mode cheat code and getting every power. As far as Selim sees it, once his work was done, all he had left to do was prep for death threats and leave some world-changing events in the wake of "Secret Invasion" for whoever picked up the torch next. No pressure.