Tara McCauley April 28th, 2021 - 12:07 AM
After The Falcon and the Winter Soldier delivered a new villain in the Power Broker and set up the next Captain America film in Friday’s final episode, surprise addition to the series Julia Louis-Dreyfus (Veep, Seinfeld) took to Instagram to reveal how her appearance on the series was kept under wraps all this time. The Contessa Valentina Allegra de Fontaine actress posed beneath a “stunning hooded cloak” in Friday’s Instagram video, revealing that it was used to conceal her on The Falcon and the Winter Soldier set and implying she was able to keep it after filming.
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Though this disguise might seem silly, its only a minor precaution when considering that the Marvel Cinematic Universe is “the most commercially successful franchise in the history of cinema” and harbors a bevvy of closely guarded-secrets across their film and television projects, via Collider. In fact, CinemaBlend confirmed that The Falcon and the Winter Soldier was not the first Disney+ series to employ this exact strategy. During season two of Star Wars hit The Mandalorian, many key members of the cast were smuggled onto set wearing cloaks to conceal their identity, which was not exactly unfamiliar garb for long-time Jedi such as Mark Hamill (Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope).
Marvel will do whatever it takes to keep a cameo secret. https://t.co/TzC9NcUtpO
— Nerdist (@nerdist) April 24, 2021
The strategy to conceal Louis-Dreyfus paid off in spades for The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, with Yahoo referring to her episode five cameo as “one of the most surprising introductions into the Marvel Cinematic Universe in recent memory.” The eleven-time Emmy winner seemed thrilled to be able to finally break the silence, with an enthusiastic Instagram post after her initial appearance in the series.
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Though Val’s role in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier was ultimately small, the character, meant to make her debut in Black Widow, carries major implications for the future of Marvel Cinematic Universe. Many speculate that her comic-book relationship with Nick Fury and connection to the Skrulls may make her an ideal candidate for Disney+’s Secret Invasion series, which recently added Emilia Clarke (Game of Thrones) to the cast. Nerdist speculates that, regardless of which project she appears in next, Val is a character that “could have lasting power in the MCU.”
Since Louis-Dreyfus outed her The Falcon and the Winter Soldier cloak, Marvel might have to switch up their strategy if the want to sneak the actress onto sets unnoticed in the future. For the time being, “it would seem that studios like Disney have found a bit of a repellent in the form of cloaks” when it comes to masking the identities of surprise cast members and cameos, via CinemaBlend.
