Warning - This article contains spoilers for The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.
The stage has been set in the penultimate episode of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, “Truth,” as Sam Wilson trained himself with Rogers' shield and John Walker built his own replacement shield for the inevitable showdown. This is not to mention the return of Georges St-Pierre as Batroc, who has his sights on killing The Falcon.
One thing fans were looking forward to most in this episode was a surprise character that writer Malcolm Spellman teased. That character is Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, played by Emmy award-winning actress Julia Louis-Dreyfus. She is most famous for her roles as Selina Meyer in Veep and Elaine Benes in Seinfeld.
However, it has just been revealed that this show was not supposed to be her intended debut in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
DEBUT INTENDED FOR BLACK WIDOW
According to Vanity Fair, sources close to the production of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier said that Julia Louis-Dreyfus was meant to debut as the character in Black Widow.
Due to the numerous delays in the film's release, this ended up not being the case. Additionally, these sources said that Marvel Studios has “even bigger ambitions” for Valentina in the MCU and that, reportedly, Louis-Dreyfus "will be cropping up in the MCU for some time to come."
CONNECTION WITH NATASHA ROMANOFF
As Julia Louis-Dreyfus was originally intended to debut in Black Widow, that points to the titular heroine being heavily tied to Louis-Dreyfus's villain and potential history as an assassin as well.
What's interesting about this change due to the ongoing pandemic is that Louis-Dreyfus's appearance in the latest episode was framed entirely as a big reveal to the audiences, as if fans were meant to already know the importance of her character and be surprised by her contacting John Walker.
Thankfully, Louis-Dreyfus is famous enough of an actress, at least on television, that the surprise itself could be her rather than the character itself. It will be interesting how Louis-Dreyfus's character will be portrayed and framed in the upcoming Black Widow movie and if her first appearance will be done similarly to The Falcon and the Winter Soldier's latest episode.
Black Widow is currently scheduled to release on Disney+'s Premiere Access and in theaters on July 9. The Falcon and the Winter Soldier's finale will stream on Disney+ on April 23, 2021.
