After the shocking conclusion of the premiere episode of Secret Invasion on Disney+, actor Cobie Smulders is nostalgic about her Marvel Cinematic Universe journey.
What happened to Maria Hill in Secret Invasion?
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Smulders opens up about the shocking death of S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent Maria Hill at the hands of Skrull baddie Gravik (Kingsley Ben-Adir) in the Secret Invasion opener, “Resurrection.” Hill’s murder marks the end of an eleven-year journey for Smulders since her MCU debut in 2012’s The Avengers. When asked about the days in the MCU that she would share with loved ones in the future, Smulders will never forget her initial Avengers introduction.
“There were these big scenes that we shot in the first and second Avengers, and we would all just chat while sitting around tables or standing around on a ship,” Smulders recalled. “On the first one, it was really intimidating for me to come into these big scenes, but it was truly magical that I got to be there over many days and shoot these scenes and watch these performances. I also got to watch the production and see how it translated onto the screen with CGI added in and whatever else. I hadn’t been a part of something like that before, where a film blended the art with the actual production and the performances as much as the first ones did. So it was really cool to get to witness the blending of what these artists made.”
Smulders was cast as Hill, the right-hand agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. leader Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson), after impressing director Joss Whedon with her audition for his unproduced Wonder Woman movie. Signing a nine-picture contract with Marvel, Smulders took Hill through the drama of the MCU, including the fall of S.H.I.E.L.D. in 2014’s Captain America: The Winter Soldier, working as a Stark Industries secretary in 2015’s Avengers: Age of Ultron, and returning to S.H.I.E.L.D. in 2018’s Avengers: Infinity War. Additionally, Smulders made guest spots on ABC’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. as well as reprising the role in 2019’s Spider-Man: Far From Home. But nothing beats the love of Marvel fans for seeing her Maria Hill character grow over time.
“I remember going onto the first one and being given artist renderings of my character and her costume, and it was so thought out and beautifully done. So that will always be a big takeaway,” Smulders continued. “It will also be the fan support. It has been an amazing ten years of being a part of something that is so beloved and makes people so excited. They are so emotionally attached to these characters and this world, and so it’s just been really cool to be a small part of that.”
New episodes of Marvel Studios’ Secret Invasion release every Wednesday on Disney+.
