Secret Invasion director Ali Selim hints at Rhodey being a Skrull since Captain America: Civil War; Fans upset by the tease

Secret Invasion packed in a whole lot of Skrull reveals, but the biggest of them all was the revelation that Don Cheadle's James "Rhodey" Rhodes had been a shapeshifting alien for the entirety of the series. Revealed during the end of episode four, it changed the game completely as it put the fate of the actual Rhodey in question.

However, we did receive an answer at the end of Secret Invasion, where we saw the real Rhodey be pulled out of the stasis he was in, but we didn't receive an answer to when he was abducted and replaced. Now, director Alim Selim has hinted at when the character might have been switched, and fans aren't exactly happy with the answer.

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Secret Invasion's ending and director teases that Rhodey was switched during Captain America: Civil War

Don Cheadle as Rhodey in Secret Invasion (Image via Marvel Studios)

Secret Invasion is a loose adaptation of the comic book of the same name and saw the Skrulls infiltrate high-ranking government positions on Earth so that they could takeover the planet. In the series, the Skrulls picked out a human host and took them to their base so that they could put them under a machine and basically absorb all their memories to impersonate them more accurately.

Rhodey turned out to be a victim of this, as the Skrull Raava impersonated him and helped the Skrull leader Gravik keep a close tab on the President of the United States of America. However, the final episode saw Raava die and Rhodey be saved from the base of the Skrulls and taken home. However, there wasn't a clear timeline given to fans as to when Rhodey was exactly switched out.

Some eagle-eyed fans did notice that Rhodey was in a hospital gown at the end of Secret Invasion, which hinted at the fact that he might have actually been switched out at the end of Captain America: Civil War, and it looks like Secret Invasion's director Ali Selim might be hinting towards the fact as well. Talking to ComicBook.com, he said:

""I think his legs not working in the end of episode six and him being in the hospital gown points to [Captain America: Civil War]. And, from there, does it have to be definitive, or is it more fun for the audience to go back and revisit every moment, every Rhodey moment and look at it with a different lens now that they think, 'Oh, he might've been a Skrull there.' And make the decision for themselves, or it'll be answered in Armor Wars."

Skrull Raava in Secret Invasion (Image via Marvel Studios)

While it's not an official confirmation, it does lend credence to the fact that Rhodey might have actually been switched with a Skrull at the end of Captain America: Civil War. During the film, Rhodey was left paralyzed when battling against Captain America and his team, and the ending saw him being treated while wearing a hospital gown of the same look.

However, this has caused a massive backlash among fans who haven't exactly liked the idea of Rhodey being a Skrull since Captain America: Civil War.

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Fans upset over the implication that Rhodey might have been a Skrull since Civil War

After the revelation, many fans online have been against the idea of Rhodey being a Skrull since Civil War. The film was released in 2016, and ever since then, Rhodey has appeared in many other projects like Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers: Endgame, and Falcon and the Winter Soldier.

In those projects, Rhodey has had huge moments as well, especially in Endgame with him dealing with his friend Tony Stark's death, and fans are upset that due to the implication of Secret Invasion, these moments might have been ruined.

You can check out Rhodey next in Armor Wars, which currently has an unscheduled release date. Here's hoping the film can give us answers about when Rhodey was exactly switched.