The 'Black Widow' Post-Credits Scene Was Almost Very Different

Marvel's Black Widow features a post-credits scene that sets the stage for an upcoming Marvel Studios project. However, writer Eric Pearson explained that the traditional tag at the end of the credits was almost much different and much longer. In order to dive into the details, we'll have to dig into spoiler territory, so if you haven't seen Black Widow, then this is your last chance to flee.

Spoilers for Black Widow follow.

We've already taken a deep dive into the Black Widow credits scene and what it means for the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The biggest takeaway is that Yelena Bolova (Florence Pugh) is working for Contessa Valentina Allegra de la Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus), a mysterious character introduced in The Falcon and The Winter Soldier. Though their exchange is briefly humorous before setting up a mission of revenge when Yelena is told that Hawkeye is "responsible" for Natasha Romanoff's death, the scene was first written to be much longer and more playful.

Writer Eric Pearson recently spoke to Collider about how the Black Widow credits scene came together, which was originally meant to mark the introduction of this character when the movie was scheduled to debut in theaters before any of Marvel's Disney+ shows premiered. Pearson explained:

"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."

It sounds like Pearson wasn't really given many details about Val, but he was still able to craft the scene with her personality. Pearson was so excited about how Val would clash with Yelena, who has plenty of funny banter with Natasha in the movie. Pearson recalled:

"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."

From what we've seen of Val so far, she's extremely nonchalant about pretty much everything. There's no room for sentimentality, and she doesn't take anything very seriously, even if there are high stakes. Between her conversations with John Walker (Wyatt Russell) and Yelena Bolova, it's clear Julia Louis-Dreyfus brings a casual attitude to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. But at some point, we're hoping there's a turn where we get to see how deadly serious she can be when it's called for. Because a character like Val doesn't hire people like John Walker and Yelena Bolova if she isn't up to some nefarious shit.

We're not sure when we'll see Contessa Valentina Allegra de la Fontaine again, but a safe bet would probably be in the Hawkeye series, which is slated to arrive sometime later this year.