Emilia Clarke’s Upcoming Espionage Thriller Can Redeem Her 53% RT MCU Debut

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Despite not showcasing Emilia Clarke’s talents effectively in Marvel’s Secret Invasion, her new series on Peacock offers a chance to redeem that disappointment. Emilia Clarke has a strong track record in television and film, demonstrating her range as an actress beyond her famous portrayal of Daenerys Targaryen in Game of Thrones.

Since the controversial finale of Game of Thrones in 2019, Emilia Clarke hasn’t quite reached her full potential as a leading actress. While the 2019 romantic comedy Last Christmas featured strong chemistry between Clarke and Henry Golding, critics generally found the movie’s plot twist to be unbelievable.

Emilia Clarke Has A New Espionage Thriller Coming On Peacock

The 2023 Disney+ series Secret Invasion was meant to be a strong start for actor Kingsley Ben-Adir in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. While it wasn’t as poorly received as Inhumans – another show with a Game of Thrones connection that’s often considered one of the worst TV shows ever – Secret Invasion still wasn’t a success.

The superhero spy thriller received a lukewarm response, earning only a 53% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. This could have discouraged Gemma Clarke from working in the spy genre again, but her new series, Ponies, coming to Peacock, shows that wasn’t the case.

Ponies Can Be A Much Better Spy Thriller Than Secret Invasion

The 2026 film Ponies features Emilia Clarke as Bea and Haley Lu Richardson as Twila, two secretaries working at the U.S. Embassy in 1977. After their husbands die, Bea and Twila begin working as CIA agents to investigate the truth behind the deaths, and uncover a web of Cold War secrets along the way.

As someone who really enjoyed both Mr. Robot and The Flight Attendant, I went into Ponies with high expectations, and honestly, it delivers on the promise of a fun, over-the-top period drama mixed with some spy thrills. The creators clearly know how to balance humor and suspense, and the cast is fantastic. It’s a really engaging show, and thankfully, unlike some of the weaker entries in the Marvel universe, Ponies doesn’t fall flat – it actually manages to stick the landing.

Secret Invasion Wasted Emilia Clarke’s MCU Debut

Released in June 2023, Secret Invasion didn’t receive a warm reception from either Marvel fans or critics. The series followed Nick Fury, played by Samuel L. Jackson, and Talos, a former Skull leader portrayed by Ben Mendelsohn, as they worked together to prevent Skrulls from secretly replacing humans on Earth.

Despite using AI for its creation, Secret Invasion was a clear disappointment, even for dedicated Marvel fans. While Emilia Clarke’s upcoming 2026 project might redeem some of the issues with her role in Secret Invasion, it’s unlikely we’ll see another Marvel TV show like it anytime soon.

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2025-11-21 03:00