Talk of a major surprise appearance in the fifth episode of “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier” proved true, though intriguingly it wasn’t in the order that was expected.
SPOILERS AHEAD FOR “FALCON AND THE WINTER SOLDIER” 1×05.
The most recent episode saw multiple Emmy-winning actress Julia Louis-Dreyfus (“Veep,” “Seinfeld”) make her debut in the MCU as a new villainous character – the Contessa Valentina Allegra de Fontaine.
Vanity Fair reports that Louis-Dreyfus was slated to first appear in the “Black Widow” film which was scheduled to debut in cinemas last May, so this second appearance has become her first.
The outlet however says Marvel has bigger ambitions for her character who has had various guises in the comics, the most famous being the Russian sleeper agent Madame Hydra along with being a love interest for Nick Fury and the leader of the all-female assault team ‘Femme Force’.
This has led to more speculation that Marvel is assembling the comic book supervillain team The Thunderbolts and Contessa’s Black Widow appearance could be a dark mirror of the “Iron Man” post-credits scene with Fontaine recruiting Florence Pugh’s Yelena.
In any case, it means Louis-Dreyfus will be a long-running villain for the current phase of the MCU and expect to see a lot more of her soon.
The reveal comes as movement is happening on a lot of Marvel projects with “Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness” wrapping up its shoot in the next few days while the “She-Hulk” series recently began production.
