After a handful of supporting appearances, Julia Louis-Dreyfus promises her Marvel’s Thunderbolts role will show more of Val. Introduced to the Marvel Cinematic Universe in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, the Seinfeld and Veep alum plays Contessa Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, a shady government figure who convinces Wyatt Russell’s John Walker to become the U.S. Agent and hires Yelena Belova to kill Clint Barton in Hawkeye. She was last seen in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, where it was revealed she recently landed the position as director of the CIA.
While speaking exclusively with Screen Rant for her acclaimed dramedy You Hurt My Feelings, Julia Louis-Dreyfus was asked about her upcoming MCU return with Marvel’s Thunderbolts. Though keeping her lips sealed on specifics for her part in the film, the 11-time Emmy winner assured that the team-up movie would explore more of Val than her work in the franchise so far. Check out Louis-Dreyfus’ brief, but exciting, tease below:
I can tell you nothing! [Laughs] Yes, I can tell you, you will now see a lot more of her. There’s your scoop!
Will Thunderbolts’ Val Overcome Nick Fury Comparisons?
Since her debut in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Val immediately began drawing comparisons to that of Samuel L. Jackson’s Nick Fury, with her efforts to turn Walker into the U.S. Agent and working closely with Florence Pugh’s Yelena seemingly setting up some kind of team. Given the former served as an antagonistic figure for the show’s eponymous heroes and the lattter was being established as a foe heading into Hawkeye, theories quickly indicated Val was forming the Thunderbolts.
Despite the similarities in building their MCU teams, Marvel’s Thunderbolts does have the advantage of its rich MCU history to learn from in helping Val overcome these Nick Fury comparisons. Concept art released for the film thus far have indicated that Louis-Dreyfus’ character will have a more involved role with the team than that of Jackson’s team founder in any of the Avengers movies. While it’s unclear if this means Val will get some fight scenes, her actually being in the field with the Thunderbolts would be a fresh change of pace.
Another major chance Marvel’s Thunderbolts has in pushing Val past these Nick Fury comparisons is by exploring her origin story. Despite quickly becoming a fan-favorite, Fury didn’t become as big of a player in the MCU until 2019’s Captain Marvel, in which he was introduced to the cosmic side of the franchise and revealed the mystery behind his eyepatch. With Secret Invasion promising to explore more of Fury’s backstory, it will be interesting to see if it stays true to the comics and features his and Val’s relationship, setting up her own story for Marvel’s Thunderbolts.
