Emilia Clarke’s New Comic Book TV Show Sounds Much Better Than Secret Invasion After 52% RT Disappointment

Summary

Emilia Clarke’s new show Criminal could surpass her Marvel role based on Prime Video’s track record with comic adaptations.
Criminal’s gritty setting and stacked cast, including Clarke, promise a fresh and exciting take on the comic book genre.
Prime Video’s success with turning niche comic franchises into hits suggests Criminal has the potential to be a major success.

Emilia Clarke has officially been cast in a new comic book show, and it already looks like it could surpass Secret Invasion. After her impressive role in Game of Thrones, Emilia Clarke has continued to grow her acting resume by appearing in huge franchises like Star Wars and The Terminator, with 2023 providing one of her most significant career moves yet. Clarke appeared in Marvel’s Secret Invasion as G’iah, and her MCU introduction looked like it would be one of her biggest roles to date; however, the show failed to land with audiences and underwhelmed critically.

Given Secret Invasion was one of Marvel’s most popular comic stories, expectations were incredibly high for the show, especially following hits like WandaVision and Loki. Unfortunately, a controversial character death, AI use, and the inability to capture the magic from the comics made Secret Invasion one of the lowest-ranked Marvel TV shows yet, proving the show was a big disappointment. Thankfully, Clarke looks set to bounce back quickly as she already has a new comic book show lined up, and her upcoming Prime Video adaptation has the potential to be a huge hit and surpass her Marvel role.

Emilia Clarke Will Star In Prime Video’s Criminal

Clarke Has Joined Prime Video’s New Comic Adaptation After Her Role In Secret Invasion

Although her first comic book outing didn’t go to plan, Emilia Clarke looks set to find redemption in Prime Video’s upcoming adaptation, Criminal. Criminal is a comic book series originally developed by Marvel before it moved to Image Comics, and it is officially getting a televised adaptation over at Amazon with Emilia Clarke as the lead. The comics were written by Ed Brubaker and illustrated by Sean Phillips, who have worked on a number of Marvel and DC stories in the past. With their original series finally getting its own adaptation, Criminal seems ready to compete with these major franchises.

Unlike some of the most popular comic adaptations in recent years, Criminal doesn’t focus on superheroes and instead centers around outlaws in a gritty setting. This is the perfect environment for Clarke to reinvent herself and offer something different from her Secret Invasion role, which failed to display her true capabilities. Some Marvel complaints stemmed from G’iah being too powerful, but seeing her in a more realistic and grounded universe should highlight her talents and offer her a completely fresh character, as the Criminal comic adaptation will have a different tone from any of Clarke’s previous roles.

Everything We Know About Prime Video’s Next Comic Book Show

Criminal Has Assembled An Impressive Cast Ahead Of Its Release

A man with a bloodied face raises his fists in anger against a blue background in the Criminal comics

While details are still somewhat limited on Prime Video’s Criminal show, some exciting information has been released. The stacked cast is by far the biggest news about the adaptation, as Charlie Hunnam, Michael Mando, Pat Healy, Adira Arjona, and plenty of other names are confirmed to be part of the Criminal project alongside Emilia Clarke. Given the comics don’t tell one specific story and instead provide several connected narratives, it is unclear exactly how the show will be structured, but it seems as though the characters’ stories will overlap as they do in the source material.

A release date also hasn’t been confirmed, but Brubaker and Phillips are producing a new Criminal comic in 2025, indicating that this could come out around a similar time to the show. Brubaker is also set to be co-showrunner on the project alongside Jordan Harper, meaning the creator will be heavily involved in the Criminal adaptation, which was announced at the beginning of 2024. With the show set to arrive on Prime Video, this bit of news is a great sign for Criminal, as the streaming platform’s track record with niche comic adaptations suggests the show could become a massive hit.

Sean Phillips will be an executive producer for Prime Video’s
Criminal
adaptation.

Why Emilia Clarke’s Next Show Might Be Better Than Marvel’s Secret Invasion

Prime Video’s Comic Adaptation History Bodes Well For Criminal

Emilia Clarke as G'iah holding a gun in Secret Invasion alongside characters from the X-Men movies

Prime Video managed to take some slightly obscure comic franchises and turn them into two of the hottest shows on TV, meaning
Criminal
is in good hands.

Although there is no guarantee that Criminal will eclipse Secret Invasion, the MCU show’s poor reception, alongside Prime Video’s positive history, gives it a strong chance. Prime Video managed to take some slightly obscure comic franchises and turn them into two of the hottest shows on TV, meaning Criminal is in good hands. While Invincible was well-written and had a decent fan base, it was nowhere near as popular as it is now. Additionally, The Boys comic series was far more controversial and niche, yet still managed to become a huge hit thanks to the streaming platform.

This points to Criminal being another success for Prime Video, as they know exactly how to adapt these grittier stories into something modern audiences enjoy. Therefore, with Emilia Clarke‘s previous outings proving she is an incredible actress with plenty of range, her casting as the witty yet deadly Mallory could give her a standout performance. Clarke seems likely to return to the MCU and may prove Secret Invasion was a small blip, but her upcoming role in Criminal could be the perfect return to form, with Prime Video providing the optimum platform to put her previous disappointment behind her.