But they really managed to keep this lid on tight.SPOILER WARNING AHEAD FOR THE FALCON AND THE WINTER SOLDIER EPISODE 5, “THE TRUTH”There had been whispers that there would be a significant cameo in the two remaining episodes of Marvel series The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, but few could’ve guessed that the feet walking into frame was going to pan up to reveal Julia Louis-Dreyfus.The Veep and Seinfeld star made her Marvel Cinematic Universe debut in episode five as Contessa Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (she says you can call her Val, just not to her face).The Contessa presented herself as a solution to the woes of a chastised John Walker (Wyatt Russell), the not-so-noble Captain America whose brief tenure ended in his vicious murder of an unarmed combatant.After being stripped of his rank and benefits by the US government, the Contessa sidles up to him and tells him that she would’ve done what he did, and then tells him that she has use for someone of his super-soldier skillset.Most importantly, to pick up the phone when she calls.It was a short scene but thanks to 11-time Emmy winner Louis-Dreyfus’ delicious performance, you just know the Contessa is going to be a slippery character. It’s also likely she’s going to feature in more MCU titles, potentially as one of the Big Bads of this next Marvel phase.According to Vanity Fair sources, Louis-Dreyfus wasn’t originally due to make her MCU debut in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, which stars Anthony Mackie and Sebastian Stan. She was actually supposed to first appear in the Scarlett Johansson Black Widow movie when it was set to be the first MCU project of Phase Four before the pandemic delayed its release by more than a year.It’s unclear if her planned role in Black Widow remains the same, has shifted or cut altogether given the changes in Marvel’s release schedule.The fact that Louis-Dreyfus’ involvement hadn’t previously leaked is all the more impressive considering the Black Widow movie finished filming in late-2019.RELATED: Interview with The Falcon and the Winter Soldier creatorWho is Contessa Valentina Allegra de Fontaine?While Marvel isn’t spilling the beans yet on who the Contessa will turn out to be – is she a villain, a hero or someone who plays in the grey? – there are several possibilities if you look to the character’s comic book history.On the page, she’s an Italian noblewoman who worked alongside Nick Fury (portrayed by Samuel L. Jackson in the MCU). She worked with him in SHIELD and was at one point his lover.She then infiltrated HYDRA as a double agent only to later be revealed as having been a Russian sleeper agent before even her SHIELD days.The Russian connection makes sense if it comes to pass in the MCU given that Johansson’s Natasha Romanoff was originally a Russian spy, and the Black Widow movie will parse that history with her fellow Russian agents, to be played by Florence Pugh, Rachel Weisz and David Harbour.There’s also the fan theory that the Contessa is the “Power Broker” pulling the strings behind the super soldier serum in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, a so-far faceless villain of the series.There’s only one episode of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier left while the Black Widow movie will be released on July 9.Share your movies and TV obsessions | @wenleima
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