"She's so talented and you can do so much with her. And she's game for it."
Following on from her brief but important appearance in ‘The Falcon and the Winer Soldier’, it’s looking increasingly likely that Julia Louis-Dreyfus is in it for the long haul at the MCU.
The purple-streaked character of Contessa Valentina Allegra de la Fontaine had two scenes with Wyatt Russell’s John Walker in the Disney+ series, but we’ve known for a few weeks that she was due to pop up on screen much earlier. ‘Black Widow’ is believed to have been the first instance of her character appearing in the MCU, but due to COVID, it got pushed back. Well, at least we have something to look forward to in the upcoming action prequel.
More importantly however, it seems that the character is here to stay. Entertainment Weekly had the opportunity to chat with Marvel Studios producers Nate Moore and Zoie Nagelhout, who revealed future plans for the character. This is Marvel of course, so no specific information was given, but it’s still something to make note of for future MCU instalments. Plus, we’ll watch anything with Louis-Dreyfus.
When asked if the intention with her being cast is to open up that character, Moore said: "One hundred per cent. She's so talented and you can do so much with her. And she's game for it.
"She certainly didn't come to us and say, 'I'll be in one show once.' She was like, 'I want to be a part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.' And we said, 'Great! Let's get you in and let's figure out how to use you.' And the truth is, I think you will see her in the future. Definitely."
Moore added how the Marvel team felt to have such a distinguished actor in their ranks for a (for the moment) minor role: "It's one of those things where you're like, 'She's never going to do it'.
"It is probably an open secret that most of us at Marvel are kind of obsessed with 'Seinfeld', probably more than 'Veep'. Just the idea that she would be in a Marvel show… Is it really going to happen? And the fact that she was so game blew our minds."
In the comics, Contessa Valentina Allegra de la Fontaine has quite a strong connection with Nick Fury, with the pair of them eventually becoming lovers. She has S.H.I.E.L.D.'s British Liaison, and has got expert firearm skills.
