Spoiler Warning: The article below contains spoilers for Episode 4 of Secret Invasion.
Secret Invasion shocked viewers with an unexpected and inevitably controversial plot twist in Episode 4. Apparently, a Skrull has infiltrated the Avengers for a long time, possibly even from the very beginning.
Episode 4 confirmed one of the most popular fan theories: James ‘Rhodey’ Rhodes, a.k.a War Machine is a Skrull shapeshifter. The reveal had fans asking how long has Rhodey been an alien impostor. Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige teases that the character may have been a Skrull for a long time.
In an interview posted on Marvel’s official site, Feige suggests that a Skrull has impersonated Rhodey in his previous MCU appearances. He also encourages fans to re-watch previous movies that involved Rhodes to figure out how long Don Cheadle’s character has been an impostor.
“We needed to have a character that one would not expect to be a Skrull.,” Feige explains. “Don was on board for this reveal of playing and revealing another side of Rhodey and revealing that, yeah, Rhodey has been a Skrull.”
He adds, “It was very early days when we pitched this concept to Don, and he very much was into it and into being able to play with different sides of Rhodey that we haven’t seen before. We like the idea of fans going back and watching some of the other appearances of Rhodey and realizing that that wasn’t him.”
Cheadle may have been keeping the plot twist a secret for a long time. The actor shared that it was fun to know the major plot twist while filming his scenes for MCU films. “It’s fun to fold that in and know that that’s what’s happening underneath all of these Rhodey scenes,” Cheadle explains. “Rhodes is not who he appears to be.”
The revelation of Rhodes’ secret identity puts him at odds with Nick Fury. The former S.H.I.E.L.D. director will have to find ways to reveal Rhodey’s secret, as he is at the center of the events of the Secret Invasion story.
“It becomes sort of a cat-and-mouse game between the two of them, about what he has on Fury and if he’s going to release information about Fury,” Cheadle adds. “Fury has to play it the right way while still trying to protect and save the planet.”
It is unclear how this new plot twist will affect the plot of the upcoming Armor Wars movie. Fury may have to resolve the whole Skrull situation before War Machine makes it to the big screen. Rhodes may still be alive and may just have been held captive by the alien invaders.
Secret Invasion is currently streaming on Disney+.
