Warning: This article contains spoilers for Secret Invasion episodes 4 and 5.

Secret Invasion's major character death could potentially be undone in future Marvel Cinematic Universe projects. In episode 4 of the series, which followed Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) attempting to prevent an escalating series of attacks on humanity from the shapeshifting Skrulls, his Skrull ally Talos (Ben Mendelsohn) was killed by Gravik (Kingsley Ben-Adir). Although he is a relatively new character in the MCU, Talos played a major role in both Captain Marvel and Spider-Man: Far From Home, so his death was something of a shock.

ComicBook recently had the opportunity to sit down with Ali Selim, the director of the series. The conversation quickly turned to the death of one of the major Secret Invasion characters. Selim said that deciding the ultimate fate of Talos in the MCU is above his pay grade, especially considering how he was focused on telling a more intimate story about Nick Fury, but the franchise could easily "come up with a reason why he's back." Read his full quote below:

Well, as you must know, some of those decisions are way above my pay grade and way above my time on the MCU, so I can't even speak to why. But they're very good friends, Nick Fury and Talos. It's a beautiful love story that's almost on par with his marriage to Varra. And so my job is to make it as heartfelt and gut-wrenching as it can be in the moment.

They cremated his body in episode five. This story does take place in 2023, 2024, so I can totally see a Nick Fury story that takes place prior to this where who knows who's going to show up, and if a story takes place after 2023, 2024, anything's possible in the MCU. They'll come up with a reason why he's back. I don't really know what the ultimate plan was other than it really makes for a gut-wrenching, isolating story for Nick Fury within the walls of these six episodes.

What Future MCU Titles Could Feature Talos?

Although Talos’ death was impactful to Nick Fury, the characters exist in a comic book universe where death can frequently be malleable. Characters from the MCU who have come back from the dead in some form or were later revealed to have faked their deaths include Phil Coulson (Clark Gregg), Gamora (Zoe Saldaña), and even Nick Fury himself. Even if the creators behind the MCU decide to make Talos’ death permanent, he could still appear in flashback footage, as Selim hinted in his quote.

This could happen as early as The Marvels, which is currently slated to premiere in theaters on November 10. Because that movie is the first Captain Marvel sequel, it will likely feature many characters and story elements from the original 2019 movie. This could very well include Talos, though it would probably be in flashback footage considering how quickly the movie is premiering after the release of Secret Invasion.

Other post-Secret Invasion MCU titles that could feature Talos include Armor Wars, which does not currently have an official date. This isn't unlikely, considering the fact that the movie's lead James Rhodes (Don Cheadle) was revealed to have been replaced by a Skrull, so he has deep connections with the events of the series. Talos could also very well appear in the upcoming massive MCU crossovers Avengers: The Kang Dynasty and Avengers: Secret Wars, which will bring together many disparate characters from various subfranchises.

Source: ComicBook