Julia Louis-Dreyfus has posted spoiler-heavy photos from behind the scenes of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.
To say that Black Panther 2 is an ambitious film would be an understatement.
Not only was Black Panther director Ryan Coogler and Marvel Studios looking to continue this successful, and culturally important, franchise without its lead, but Wakanda Forever also had to acknowledge the star and his character's passing.
If that wasn't difficult enough, the sequel served as the MCU's final Phase 4 film; and in doing so, set the stage for a number of new characters and future storylines.
In addition to Dominique Thorne's introduction as Ironheart and Tenoch Huerta's debut as Namor, Wakanda Forever featured a relatively new MCU character who's expected to make waves come Phase 5.
Julia Louis-Dreyfus Posts Black Panther 2 Spoilers
Warning - the rest of this article contains spoilers for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.
Julia Louis-Dreyfus made her MCU debut in 2021's The Falcon and the Winter Soldier as Contessa Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, otherwise known as Val.
In the months following her reprisal in Black Widow, Marvel Studios confirmed she would be starring in 2024's Thunderbolts.
But her surprise appearance in Black Panther 2 not only laid the groundwork for that developing story but also revealed more about her own past.
Apparently, Val was previously married to Martin Freeman's Everett Ross from Captain America: Civil War and 2018's Black Panther.
In the days following this reveal in Black Panther 2's release, Julia Louis-Dreyfus posted photos of her from the set of the sequel, two of which include prominent figures from the MCU film.
In the first photo that the actress posted to Instagram, she can be seen on a bridge and surrounded by green screens.
In her caption, Dreyfus referred to the location as "Mass Ave Bridge in Boston," a key location from Black Panther 2, before noting that it's actually in Atlanta:
"Mass Ave Bridge in Boston and by that I mean huge green screen set up in Atlanta. Hollywood magic, baby."
While the second photo of her and Martin Freeman was spoilery already, her caption surprisingly gave away one of the film's reveals:
"SPOILER ALERT: Me and the Ex."
The third and final Instagram post is a selfie of the actress with Black Panther 2 director Ryan Coogler.
Not only is she sporting her character's signature purple streak once more, but Coogler is wearing the same necklace bearing Chadwick Boseman's image that he wore on the red carpet.
Dreyfus captioned the photo as follows:
"I love this man. #ryancoogler. Have a great weekend."
Is Val's Black Panther Role a Major MCU Spoiler?
Given that mere days separated Julia Louis-Dreyfus' social media posts and Black Panther 2's release, it still seems a bit early for spoilers, especially from the film's cast.
However, while the actress' role wasn't listed or promoted, her involvement isn't a complete surprise.
In August of 2021, Dreyfus' makeup artist posted photos of the star on the same green screen set shown in the first of the actress' social media posts.
In fact, it was speculated then that the set she was on wasn't only for Black Panther 2 but connected to the film's Boston chase sequence. That assumption was correct.
Now, whether Marvel Studios will take issue with the Thunderbolts star posting spoilers so close to a film's release is unknown.
But regardless, it's great to see that she's clearly enjoying her MCU costars and the experience.
Marvel fans can expect to see a lot more of Julia Louis Dreyfus' Val come Phase 5.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is now playing in theaters worldwide.
