Spoilers return in the finale of Secret Invasion

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Martin Freeman, who played the actual Everett K. Ross, appeared as a guest in the Secret Invasion series finale. After portraying a Skrull duplicate in the series opener, Freeman returned as the actual Everett K. Ross in “Home,” the sixth and final episode of the Disney+ limited series. G’iah freed all the captive humans who had been replaced by Skrulls and put in stasis under New Skrullos after defeating Gravik, including Ross and James “Rhodey” Rhodes (Don Cheadle).

While the plot of Secret Invasion does not establish how long Ross has been in stasis beneath the Skrull stronghold, Freeman has previously remarked that he does not believe Ross has always been a Skrull. “I’m not interested in playing Ross as Skrull. “I don’t want to believe he’s been a Skrull the whole time,” he stated in July 2023. That is not what I have done. I’ve always had faith in Ross’s honesty. I had a lot of fun playing Ross, Skrull or not. I’ve had a lot of fun portraying him as an organic human guy, and I don’t want to lose him to Skrulldom.”

Everett K. Ross first appeared in Captain America: Civil War (2016) as the Joint Counterterrorism Center’s Deputy Task Force Commander. He collaborated with Secretary of State Thaddeus Ross and Team Iron Man to bring in the Winter Soldier when the Avengers were split into two factions commanded by Iron Man and Captain America. In Black Panther (2018), he helped T’Challa/Black Panther beat his cousin Erik “Killmonger” Stevens, and in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022), he discreetly collaborated with Shuri and Okoye to help them discover Riri Williams. The 2022 sequel also reveals that he is Valentina Allegra de Fontaine’s ex-husband, who was introduced in Black Widow (2021).

At the time of writing, Freeman’s future in the Marvel Cinematic Universe was uncertain, since Everett K. Ross was not scheduled to appear in any subsequent films or series. While it is usual for Marvel to leave fans guessing about where characters will appear next, it appears that Freeman is also unsure when Everett K. Ross will return. “I never think I’ve got a future in the MCU,” Freeman said. “I always assume I haven’t, which is the most secure strategy.” Given that I’m not a member of the MCU’s A-team, I believe it’s the safest option. I’ll undoubtedly be on the substitutes’ bench. I’m a good little stand-in. I can come on for around five minutes towards the conclusion of the game if required. I’m not making any assumptions about my future in the MCU. But once it does happen, it’s a wonderful bonus.”