Secret Invasion's Cobie Smulders discusses the new depths of her long-running character to be explored in the upcoming series . In the role of Maria Hill, Smulders has appeared in some of the biggest Marvel projects to date. She's been a part of The Avengers, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers: Endgame, and Spider-Man: Far From Home, in addition to reprising the role on the television shows Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and the animated anthology What If...?.

Given that long list of credits, it might seem as though Maria was one of the more well-defined characters in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. But more often in her appearances, some of which are only small cameos, the former deputy director of S.H.I.E.L.D. acts in a supporting role to Samuel L. Jackson's Nick Fury. Smulders will return as Maria Hill in the Disney+ series Secret Invasion, which deals with an army of shape-shifting aliens that have infiltrated everywhere on Earth, and she promises a closer look at her MCU vet.

Related: MCU Phase 4 Needs To Finally Do Maria Hill Justice

In an interview with TVLine, Smulders brings up her arc in Secret Invasion. The actor wouldn't say how much she'll appear in the highly anticipated thriller, which is set to debut in 2023, but she does talk about how the six-episode show allowed her to show more depth to the character that she's been portraying for years, and indicates that some of Maria's backstory would be explored. Check out Smulders' comments below:

It’s the most depth I’ve been able to show of Maria Hill. That’s the beauty of these series that Marvel is doing, you’re able to really get backstory of these characters. What are the conversations that happen when they’re just sitting around drinking coffee? It’s not like, ‘We’ve gotta get the bad guys! We’ve gotta get the thing! We’ve gotta save the world again!’ It’s like, ‘Let’s just have a chat, let’s go for a walk.’ We get to see those kinds of moments and be a bit more intimate with the characters.

Secret Invasion Could Continue A Great Disney+ Trend

Cobie Smulders as Maria Hill in Secret Invasion

Taking the comments of Smulders into context, it's possible that Secret Invasion could continue what these Disney+ shows have helped the MCU to accomplish. At their best, as with WandaVision, Loki, and Ms. Marvel, they've helped to provide shading and allowed talented actors to explore the nuances of their characters, more than they would have been able to as part of a two-hour movie. Smulders is certainly a worthy candidate. She's one of the franchise's many recognizable actors that has been brought in to fill in a secondary function, but given Maria Hill's comic book history, there's certainly a lot more the creatives at the MCU can pull from. There is, for example, Maria's turbulent and tragic family life, which would provide rich material.

But, in the same vein, sometimes the Disney+ shows don't live up to what the actors indicate in their press remarks. With only six episodes, and several other characters to serve, hopefully Maria at least gets a standout episode or some meaningful scenes that pay off in the end. It's one of the benefits of actually making a television series, rather than a movie that's cut up into several parts. For it to be truly satisfying, Secret Invasion should avoid that latter option.

Source: TVLine

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