The days preceding this week’s episode of Falcon and the Winter Soldier were filled with speculation, due in part to showrunner Malcolm Spellman‘s tease of a significant cameo by an unannounced star. As seen in the episode, we now know that cameo to be from Seinfeld and VEEP star Julia Louis-Dreyfus, who walks into her scene with such swagger as one of the OG S.H.I.E.L.D. creations by legend Jim Steranko, Contessa Valentina de Fontaine. In the episode, Contessa has a very cryptic pep talk with John Walker, teasing a larger presence in the MCU’s future. Vanity Fair revealed today that Dreyfus was originally slated to appear first in Black Widow, provided the pandemic didn’t cripple the world.
For the uninitiated, Contessa in the comics has assumed various roles and identities; from Nick Fury’s lover to a heel turn as Madame Hydra. A role she hasn’t taken in the comics is the fresh new take the MCU has with her character; a seemingly inverted Nick Fury-esque recruiter of morally questionable superheroes. Knowing this and the fate of Florence Pugh‘s Yelena Belova, it’s not too crazy to imagine that Contessa ends up recruiting Belova at the end of that movie. Assuming that cameo hasn’t been removed amidst all the shuffling, it’ll be exciting to see Dreyfus in the role again in just a few months.
Source: Vanity Fair
