Martin Freeman Refuses To Acknowledge Everett Ross' Secret Invasion Shift Into A Skrull

This article contains spoilers for "Secret Invasion." 

Many feel the Marvel Disney+ series "Secret Invasion" went out with a whimper, although it started with a big twist. None other than Agent Everett Ross (Martin Freeman) turned out to be a shapeshifting Skrull, with the real Ross locked away in a pod with the other humans the Skrulls had replaced. Don't worry, he and the others were rescued in the end!

For the uninitiated, the Skrulls first appeared in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (as far as we know) in the 1990s during the events of "Captain Marvel." The alien race was looking for a new home, and back then, Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) offered to help them in exchange for their help with some spy work on Earth. Some of them volunteered, including the now-deceased Talos (Ben Mendelsohn). In "Secret Invasion," we get to see Skrull versions of Fury, several world leaders, the anchor for a major news station, Rhodey (Don Cheadle), and Ross. What we still don't know is how long these MCU characters haven't been ... well, themselves.

Like humans, Skrulls are not a monolith. Some are good, some are bad, some are ready to take over Earth, and some just want to live here in peace. The thing is, we don't know who isn't who they say they are. That means anyone in the MCU could potentially be a Skrull. (That's a narrative nightmare in my book, but your mileage may vary.) Freeman recently spoke to Collider about finding out about SkRoss (I made that up, and I like it) and whether he believes he's been a Skrull this entire time.

Like some viewers (myself included), finding out Ross was a Skrull at the beginning of "Secret Invasion" wasn't a welcome surprise to Martin Freeman. He said:

"I don't wanna play Ross as Skrull. I don't wanna believe he's been a Skrull this whole time, so I don't. That's not what I've played. I've believed, all the time, in Ross's integrity, actually. I really enjoy playing Ross, as a Skrull or otherwise. I've enjoyed playing him as an organic human man, so I don't wanna lose him to Skrulldom. So, no, Ross, for me, is not a Skrull. 

"But I was forewarned before seeing a script and I was like, 'Huh? What the f***?!' Because then, you have to retrofit everything you've done and everything the audience thinks. As someone said, when Duke Ellington died, 'If I don't want to believe it, I just won't believe it. It's not true, if I don't believe it.' So, I'm just gonna go with my own thing. I've played him as a human, so that's what I believe."

It has to be frustrating to play a character that you care about and then have him completely turned on his head. Freeman also pointed out that "Secret Invasion" overlaps with the events of "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever" and that he wasn't playing Ross as a Skrull in that film.

For many MCU actors, all the work they put into their characters over the many years of the franchise might be undone or retconned. It makes absolute sense that some of the actors wouldn't be happy about that. Martin Freeman may not have a choice if his character is written in a different way now, but I'm glad he said it.

"Secret Invasion" is currently streaming on Disney+.