Author: Charles Murphy

Nearly ten years after it first hit theaters, Captain America: The Winter Solider remains one of Marvel Studios’ most highly regarded projects. Tonally different from anything that came before it, the second installment in the Captain America franchise is the gold-standard spy thriller of the MCU and according to Secret Invasion star Samuel L. Jackson, connects to his upcoming Disney Plus streaming series.

“It ranks as number one in terms of things that I’ve done in the, you know, Marvel Cinematic Universe,” said Jackson during the global press event for the new series. “I really loved Winter Soldier, so that tone, you know, flows into this in a very real kind of way. And it’s a story about people doing people stuff, you know, without, you know, all those supers coming in to save you and help you and doing all that other stuff.“

Those “supers”, as Jackson calls them, aren’t expected to make an appearance in Secret Invasion, as co-star Don Cheadle explained, leaving Fury to assemble a different kind of team and showing a new side of the “invulnerable” character fans have grown accustomed to. Where that leaves Fury remains unclear as critics have only seen the first two episodes of the streaming series’; however as fans of the comics are sure to understand, nobody should underestimate Nick Fury!

Following a brief cameo in The Falcon and The Winter Soldier, Don Cheadle‘s James Rhodes steps into a bit of a new role as a “political animal” in his second post-Blip appearance in Secret Invasion. Now the “right hand” of Dermot Mulroney‘s President Ritson, Rhodey has traded in the War Machine suit for a three-piece (at least through the first two episodes). While Rhodes’ full role in the series has yet to be revealed, Cheadle’s character seems as though he’ll survive and advance given he’s set to star in Armor Wars.

For Cheadle, Secret Invasion provided not only his first time to share an extended scene with star Samuel L. Jackson but also for the character to step out of the shadow of Tony Stark and The Avengers. During the global press event for the Disney Plus streaming series, Cheadle was asked what it was like to step into the role again without the comfort of so many familiar characters. “It was liberating not to have to carry that dead weight,” joked Cheadle before shooting straight.

It was great. Look, I’ve known Sam for a long time, and, you know, we’ve spent a lot of time, you know, talking about what it would be like to work together, looking for projects to do together. So, you know, the central relationship between myself and Sam, and this is, you know, it was very important to me and I was very glad to be brought on.

Don Cheadle on Rhodey’s role in Secret Invasion

Cheadle went on to reveal that his character didn’t originally have a role in Secret Invasion…until his longtime friend changed that. “I don’t think it was originally conceived that Rhodey was gonna be in this,” said the actor. “But when it came to me and Sam called me, I was really excited about leaning into it.” And lean into it he did, especially given the room he had to work in the new environment.

And also being in a show like this, that’s really a departure from what I have been in, as far as the genre goes, it’s really an opportunity to act and really, you know, lean into some human stuff, which was also a lot of fun. And, you know, as Emilia [Clarke] said and as Olivia [Colman] said, as Kingsley [Ben-Adir] said, as Ben [Mendelsohn] said, this is a great cast and [director] Ali [Selim]was a great director, a great leader. So it was just all upside, and, you know, very happy to, you know, look into who Rhodey is and to probe that more and kind of find out what really makes him tick.

Don Cheadle

Fans don’t have long to wait to find out exactly what it is that makes Rhodey tick as Secret Invasion premieres on Disney Plus on June 21st .

Along with Nick Fury, James Rhodes is the longest-surviving member of the MCU (technically Pepper Potts and Happy Hogan are in that boat as well, though it’s highly unlikely that Gwyneth Paltrow knows that after having made their first appearances in 2008’s Iron Man. While Secret Invasion puts Samuel L. Jackson‘s Nick Fury front and center, Don Cheadle‘s Rhodey has a part to play as well, albeit a little different one than what fans have become accustomed to. During the global press event for the upcoming Disney Plus streaming series, Cheadle gave some insight into his character’s “different role” in Secret Invasion.

“I think we’re just kind of finding out what’s happening with Rhodey as this series goes on,” said Cheadle about his character’s evolution in the post-Blip world. “He’s in a different role. We see him as more a political animal than we have in the past. He’s been more of a military man, but now he’s sort of, you know, in some ways, a right hand of the president and this special envoy, in that regard.” And, as has been teased in the trailers for the series, that role puts him a bit at odds with Nick Fury despite their shared past.

For Cheadle, having the opportunity to explore that changing relationship with Fury–and the rest of the cast–is what he most enjoyed about working on Secret Invasion. “I think what I’m looking forward to is just seeing more, you know, getting under the hood of who he is,” explained Cheadle. “And seeing how this relationship, not only with Nick Fury, but the other cast members evolves.”

With Cheadle’s Armor Wars project set to spin out of the events of Secret Invasion, it seems like there might be another evolution ahead for War Machine.