Secret Invasion's Cobie Smulders Reacts to That Shocking Death in Episode 1

Cobie Smulders has been playing the elusive S.H.I.E.L.D. member and Nick Fury's right-hand woman Maria Hill for over a decade now, appearing in nine MCU projects. But it looks like her Marvel journey was cut short in the premiere episode of Secret Invasion, which was released on Disney+ on June 21. In the final moments of the episode, Smulders' character got shot and killed by a disgruntled Skrull Gravik impersonating Nick Fury.

While MCU fans are reeling from this disappointing, seemingly pointless death of a promising character, Cobie Smulders has shared that she is shocked too — not by the twist itself though, but by the fact that it wasn't leaked to the public ahead of time.

'There were a lot of people around, so I'm surprised that there wasn't an image that got leaked. I guess that's the respect that Marvel has earned over the last decade, which is like, "Don't spoil it for people." And nobody did, thankfully,' the star told The Hollywood Reporter.

As for the scene itself, Smulders said it felt 'kind of dark' for her, but not startling. She knew her character's death was coming for a while.

'I was told right off the bat when [Marvel Studios Co-President] Lou D'Esposito gave me a call to chat about just joining up [on Secret Invasion], and so I've known about it for years,' Smulders said. 'It's nice to finally have it out there.'

The death of Maria Hill has sparked numerous theories throughout the MCU fan community, from the one who was killed being a Skrull to the character being revived later on through a secret program. All in all, the majority of fans believe that the MCU is not done with Maria just yet and that we'll have a chance to get to know her better.

Cobie Smulders neither confirmed nor denied the theories.

'That's sort of for [the MCU creators] to decide. I will always answer the call, but I have no idea what they have planned for future productions. But I guess anything's possible in the multiverse,' the actress said.

Well, it's comforting to know that at least the star isn't closing the door on Maria Hill's resurrection.

Secret Invasion Episode 2 will land on Disney+ on June 28, 2023.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter.