Black Widow writer reveals a longer post-credits scene was scripted

Writer Eric Pearson has talked more about the Black Widow post-credits scene. Spoilers ahead for the first Marvel Phase 4 movie…

The scene brings back Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Contessa Valentina Allegra de Fontaine. While Florence Pugh's Yelena Belova is having an emotional moment at Natasha's grave, Val loudly blows her nose, then after a quick conversation with the former Widow, sends Yelena after Hawkeye – and tells her the archer is responsible for Natasha's death. 

"I just know that they told me we have plans to introduce this character Valentina, and it's going to be played by Julia Louis Dreyfus. And I couldn't get to the computer fast enough," Pearson told Collider. "That tag scene was probably like five pages long because I was just so greedy. I was like, I want Yelena and Valentina just back and forth, bouncing dialogue off of each other. And ultimately that's never going to happen. You're not going to have a full scene as a stinger at the end. So we went with the smaller version, but I was just so excited to get those two actors together, to get those two character dynamics together. And I also love taking an emotional moment, like Yelena at the grave, and then flushing it down the toilet with Valentina blowing her nose."

Val made her MCU debut in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, though the original plan was for Black Widow to be her first appearance: Pearson confirmed to Collider that the post-credits scene was scripted and filmed prior to Dreyfus filming the series. Kevin Feige hinted that this was the only change made to Phase 4 due to pandemic delays, though: "There's also an Easter egg that originally was going to appear first in Black Widow, and then show up in Falcon and the Winter Soldier, and because of the pandemic – it's the only thing within our Phase 4 that was twisted a little bit."

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier producer Nate Moore has also teased that Val will be "making more waves" in the MCU, so we can expect plenty to come from the Contessa – especially as she seems to be setting up the Dark Avengers, after recruiting US Agent and Yelena. 

Black Widow is in theaters and streaming on Disney Plus Premier Access now. If you’re all caught up, check out how to watch Marvel movies in order for the ultimate movie marathon, and find the best Disney Plus prices and deals.