Could the Marvel Cinematic Universe face a Secret Invasion in the future? It may not be out of the question! Because 20th Century Fox has the film rights to the Fantastic Four, it’s long been assumed that the shape-shifting alien Skrulls would be off limits to the MCU. But according to Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn, that’s not the case.

Via IGN, Gunn offered an update via twitter that suggests Fox and Marvel can both use the Skrulls, while noting that some “specific” Skrulls can only be used by Fox.

Some specific Skrulls are at Fox. But the Skrulls as a whole are co-owned. https://t.co/2hJYkskLZ3

— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) July 6, 2016

Presumably, one of those “specific” Skrulls would be the Super-Skrull, one of the earliest Fantastic Four villains who has all of their powers combined.

There is some confusion as to whether the Chitauri from The Avengers movie were meant to be the MCU’s take on Skrulls, but they didn’t display any of the shapeshifting abilities that the creatures had in Marvel’s Ultimate Universe line. And it would be more exciting if the MCU could use the actual Skrulls, since their main rivals, the Kree, are already a part of Marvel’s movie and TV mythology. The Skrulls also played a key role in the Secret Invasion crossover, in which they attempted to colonize the Earth by replacing several of the world’s superheroes with Skrull sleeper agents. That could be a very intriguing choice to build a multi-movie storyline around.

Gunn recently wrapped Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, and if the Skrulls are going to appear in the MCU anytime soon, that would be the best place to start. But since the Skrulls are shapeshifters, they could literally be almost anyone in any of the Marvel movies. Perhaps the Skrulls are already here!

What do you think about the prospects of the Skrulls coming to the MCU? Are you or anyone else you know secretly a Skrull sent to overrun humanity? Let the invasion begin in our comment section below!

Image: Marvel Comics