We first met Valentina Allegra de Fontaine in The Falcon and The Winter Soldier, with Black Widow marking her second MCU appearance. Between outfitting John Walker as U.S. Agent and sending Yelena Belova after Hawkeye, it became clear early on that she must be up to something big.
Since then, we've learned she will lead the Thunderbolts, while Black Panther: Wakanda Forever established that Val is also the CIA's new Director.
We had expected she might be in charge of an organisation from the comic books, but all signs point to Earth's Mightiest Heroes having a major issue with the U.S. Government moving forward. That's intriguing on a number of levels, especially with the antagonist now putting together her own team of superheroes.
Screen Rant recently spoke to Black Panther: Wakanda Forever executive producer Nate Moore about Julia Louis-Dreyfus' cameo in the sequel, and learned that her role in the MCU is likely to be very similar to Nick Fury's once upon a time.
"Certainly, this is not the last time you will see Valentina. I think now, clearly, she and Ross might find themselves at different tables at the same restaurant," he explains. "The detail about their past relationship was something Ryan thought would be really fun and interesting to explore."
"Hopefully, we'll get to build on that. But with Valentina, much like Nick Fury in Phase One, we're slowly building the story of a woman who maybe has her finger in more pies than you think," Moore teases. "And we'll just see if that's a good thing or a bad thing for the MCU."
She's clearly a very powerful woman and someone who will have a major impact on this shared world moving forward. We still don't know what leads to Val assembling the Thunderbolts, though the Black Panther sequel made it clear she wants to get her hands on Wakanda's Vibranium.
What do you think the future holds in store for Val in the MCU? Thunderbolts is set to be released in theaters on July 26, 2024.