There's a lot of disillusionment and anger driving Secret Invasion's Gravik and his Skrull extremist crusade.
Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, Kingsley Ben-Adir broke down his approach to playing the Marvel antagonist and what caused Gravik's present-day radicalization. "Huge trauma, huge mistrust of leadership, feeling of being let down time and time again by different figures of authority and leadership, seeing war — it's the buildup of all of that," Ben-Adir said. He also teased a future scene where Gravik tries to "explain some of those reasons for why he feels the way that he does, but it's the abuse of power, the mistrust of leadership, the broken promises and the feeling like he's had enough. He's had enough of listening to people who are full of shit, and it really became a simple thing to wrap my head around."
To develop Gravik's frame of mind, Ben-Adir spent a lot of time researching cult leaders and their relationship with followers, teasing how "it felt appropriate as the villain in this piece to explore the antisocial personality disorder side of things. The righteousness of what he's doing is this complete crock of shit, and it's just how he uses and manipulates people. He is testing everyone constantly, and that becomes quite fun to play." Another major inspiration was actor Harold Torres in the crime drama ZeroZeroZero, describing his character Manuel Quinteras as someone who "holds a certain tension and a certain mystery in his behavior. He uses and manipulates the people around him."
Gravik's Mysterious Origins in Secret Invasion
While little is known so far about Gravik's past, the Secret Invasion premiere established that he holds a grudge against Nick Fury over his failure to locate Captain Marvel's Skrull refugees a new planet. Thus, Gravik and his followers -- including Talos' daughter G'iah -- have set up the Skrull-only community New Skrullos while running terrorist campaigns around the globe, all while kidnapping and replacing key individuals. Though Fury, Talos, and Maria Hill attempt to prevent one of Gravik's bombings, they're ultimately unsuccessful, and, in the process, Gravik murders Hill while disguised as Fury.
Initially released to mixed-to-positive reviews, Secret Invasion has become a subject of controversy due to its AI-generated intro sequence. According to director Ali Selim, the opening credits' purpose was to mirror the distrustful aesthetic of a "shape-shifting, Skrull world identity." Still, its inclusion nevertheless raises concerns over AI art being a form of art theft. Additionally, due to its mature subject matter, Secret Invasion received a parental warning in various Disney+ streaming regions like the United Kingdom.
New episodes of Secret Invasion premiere Wednesdays on Disney+.
Source: THR