A dead MCU character is reportedly making a return in The Marvels

Cobie Smulders, who plays Maria Hill in the MCU, is reportedly making an appearance in The Marvels, according to The Hollywood Reporter. This may come as a surprise to viewers, though, as her character – Nick Fury's right-hand woman – was killed off in the first episode of Secret Invasion.

In the episode's dramatic scene, Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) and Hill fail to intercept a bomb attack in Moscow carried out by the mercenary Skrulls, led by series antagonist Gravik (Kingsley Ben-Adir). Amidst the chaos, Gravik shapeshifts into Fury and kills Hill – a shock ending to the opening episode of a series that looked set to center around Fury and Hill's double act.

Smulders, however, has known about her character's fate 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, which is really funny," she said elsewhere in the interview with THR.

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As for The Marvels, we already know that Jackson is returning as Fury in the movie, which sees Carol Danvers (Brie Larson), Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris), and Kamala Khan (Iman Vellani) team up to work out why they keep swapping places with each other every time they use their powers. Could Maria Hill appear in a flashback for Fury, then? Or is this a result of a knot in the MCU's timeline, caused by the movie's repeated delays (The Marvels was originally scheduled to be released in July 2022 and has been pushed back several times since). 

New episodes of Secret Invasion air every Wednesday on Disney Plus, while The Marvels arrives in theaters on November 10. In the meantime, make sure you're up to speed with the MCU with our guides to Marvel Phase 5 and Marvel Phase 6.