When COVID-19 closed most of the world down last year, not even the Marvel Cinematic Universe was immune to its impact. The entire Phase 4 slate was delayed, while productions were closed down (leading to WandaVision being released on Disney+ before The Falcon and The Winter Soldier).
During a recent interview with On The Red Carpet at the Black Widow premiere, Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige was asked just how much things changed because of the pandemic. Surprisingly, he revealed that only one thing ended up being "twisted" as a result of these delays.
"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 in our Phase Four that's twisted a little bit," Feige confirmed.
"So, for fans that watched Falcon and the Winter Soldier, there's an Easter egg waiting for them in this film."
Considering the fact that - SPOILER WARNING! - it's previously been reported that Julia Louis-Dreyfus was supposed to first appear as Valentina Allegra de Fontaine in Black Widow, chances are that's what Feige is talking about here.
It doesn't sound like it really makes much of a difference to that movie or The Falcon and The Winter Soldier, but it's still interesting to think about what might have been. While it was a blow to fans, pushing the entire Phase 4 slate down the release date calendar certainly helped avoid any troublesome continuity issues, and if this was as bad as things got, it's not the end of the world!
How do you plan on watching Black Widow when it's released in theaters and on Disney+?