The following contains spoilers for Secret Invasion Season 1, Episode 6 “Home,” which is now streaming on Disney+.
Secret Invasion has completed its six-episode run, completing the first Disney+ series in Phase 5 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. In its epic finale, Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson), G’iah (Emilia Clarke), and Sonya Falsworth (Olivia Colman) were able to defeat Gravik (Kingsley Ben-Adir) and his legion of Skrulls, saving Earth. However, the motley crew of secret warriors was down one ally, who had been killed in the line of duty several episodes earlier.
Several episodes before Secret Invasion‘s explosive ending, Fury’s Skrull ally, Talos (Ben Mendelsohn), was killed by Gravik. While trying to save the President of the United States from an assassination attempt, Talos was shot and killed by his rival, bringing his time in the MCU to a sudden and tragic end. Secret Invasion made no hints about Talos possibly surviving his last encounter with Gravik. Yet, all may not be lost for fans of Mendelsohn himself. In fact, the MCU has already supplied a way for Mendelsohn to return to the franchise without ever resurrecting Talos.
Director Keller’s Fate Was Never Addressed In The MCU
In an action-packed and ultimately divisive ending to its first season, Secret Invasion left many questions unanswered, including the fate Talos’s human counterpart, Keller. As seen in Captain Marvel, Keller was the director of SHIELD in the mid-90s while Nick Fury was still in his early career as an agent. Talos shapeshifts into Keller in order to get close to Fury and Carol Danvers (Brie Larson), but is eventually found out. After dropping the guise, Talos remains in his Skrull form for the rest of the film, but would continue to transform into Keller as his default human form, as seen in Spider-Man: Far From Home and Secret Invasion.
It is unclear exactly what happened to Director Keller, as he has been absent from the MCU since Captain Marvel. In fact, Talos never revealed what he did with Keller when he first replaced him in 1995. Since he is meant to be portrayed as a hero and because it would simply cause too big a stir, Talos most likely didn’t kill Keller during the events of Captain Marvel. Moreover, it doesn’t seem likely that Talos permanently replaced Keller, either. After all, in his years at SHIELD, the Skrull leader answered to Nick Fury, who would have been Keller’s subordinate. It therefore stands to reason that Keller is still out there somewhere in the MCU.
What Director Keller’s Role Can Be In The MCU’s Future
With Keller still alive, it is possible that the former SHIELD director is still out there helping the Skrulls establish a future in the MCU. Ben Mendelsohn’s human character has always been an enigma, completely disappearing after Captain Marvel and eventually passing his title down to Nick Fury. However, the MCU has the unprecedented opportunity to finally resolve this long-standing mystery as early as the next film, The Marvels. The upcoming film will introduce SWORD, a space-based intelligence agency that was founded by Maria Rambeau shortly after Keller’s last appearance in the MCU. It is possible that Keller was transferred to SWORD after Captain Marvel and will play a role in the upcoming sequel.
If Keller has been working with SWORD off-world, his long-standing absence in the MCU would make perfect sense. At SWORD, Keller would be one of the primary forces in trying to help the Skrulls find a new homeworld, requiring him to stay out of Earth-based affairs. Even more importantly, Keller’s return in The Marvels would also be interesting for Fury’s story. Nick Fury and Talos relied on each other a great deal and were very good friends. Working alongside someone with the same face as his fallen friend would be grueling for Fury, forcing him to grieve Talos’s death during the events of Secret Invasion.
Talos’s death provided higher stakes for Fury’s battle against Gravik in Secret Invasion and shouldn’t be reversed. However, Ben Mendelsohn’s talent can be put to good use in answering one of the franchise’s ongoing mysteries. With the long-overdue return of Director Keller, Mendelsohn could have a long and bright future in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.