Secret Invasion’s Opening Credits Are Created Using AI Artwork

The opening credits to Marvel’s Secret Invasion streaming show utilized AI to demonstrate how the Skrulls are infiltrating Earth. Secret Invasion is the first Marvel series to premiere on Disney+ this year, as fans follow Nick Fury on a new mission to take down a group of Skrulls that have slithered their way into our society for nefarious reasons. Some of the mystery behind Secret Invasion will be discovering which of our favorite characters like Nick Fury, Maria Hill, and James Rhodes, have been replaced by Skrulls. Each Marvel Disney+ series has its own unique opening, and the creators behind Secret Invasion chose to go with artificial intelligence in order to show the concept of “Skrull cubism.”

Secret Invasion director and executive producer Ali Selim spoke to Polygon about the AI behind the show’s opening credits, which include images of Secret Invasion‘s key characters morphing into Skrulls, along with the background also turning green. Method Studios is the production company behind the opening sequence.

“When we reached out to the AI vendors, that was part of it — it just came right out of the shape-shifting, Skrull world identity, you know? Who did this? Who is this?” Selim said. He added how he was fascinated with how AI could give a sense of dread that hangs over the plot and theme of Secret Invasion.

“We would talk to them about ideas and themes and words, and then the computer would go off and do something. And then we could change it a little bit by using words, and it would change,” he said.

There has been a lot of controversy over the use of artificial intelligence, whether it’s to replace artists or writers, and the loss of jobs that can come from it. However, it should be noted that Method Studios has worked on previous Marvel projects, such as Loki, Moon Knight, and Loki.

Nick Fury Confronts a Threat in Secret Invasion Clip

Secret Invasion will be anchored by Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson), who has had quite a slew of adventures in comics over the years, and a new clip teases what might be his biggest yet. On Tuesday, Marvel Studios shared a new clip from Secret Invasion, which shows Fury in conversation with Sonya Falsworth, played by beloved award-winning actress Olivia Colman.

Sonya’s last name has some specific ties to Marvel’s history, as multiple men under the Falsworth mantle have taken on the superhero name of Union Jack. Initially created by Roy Thomas and Frank Robbins in 1976’s The Invaders #7, Union Jack is a mantle held by three men in the comics — beginning with James Montgomery Falsworth, an adventurer for the British government. He is later succeeded in the mantle by his son, Brian Falsworth, and later a man named Joey Chapman, who took on the mantle to fight for the working class. James Falsworth actually already appeared in the MCU as a member of the Howling Commandoes in Captain America: The First Avenger, in which he was played by JJ Feild.

The MCU’s top superspy Nick Fury is back in Secret Invasion, the limited series premiering June 21st on Disney+. Samuel L. Jackson returns in the new Marvel Studios series, showcasing Fury’s attempt to get to the bottom of a Skrull invasion that goes all the way to the most powerful positions in various governments and organizations on the planet. In Secret Invasion, Fury teams with allies Maria Hill (Cobie Smulders), Everett Ross (Martin Freeman), and Talos (Ben Mendelsohn), while James Rhodes AKA War Machine will appear in a mysterious capacity. Other newcomers to the Marvel Cinematic Universe include Emilia Clarke, Olivia Colman, and Kingsley Ben-Adir.