One of the most exciting aspects of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier was the big-time surprise cameo from Julia Louis-Dreyfus as a prominent Marvel Comics character, Contessa Valentina Allegra de la Fontaine. Her appearance in the Disney+ original has opened up hundreds of possibilities for the future expansion of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Though her appearance came in an unusual and unexpected manner, and she left without any major explanation as to what her character's purpose would be within the MCU.

Opening up about how her character came into shape in The Falcon And The Winter Soldier, series director Kari Skogland said this.

"I wasn't as aware of her. She's a deep dive, and I only became a fan of Marvel 10 or 15 years ago. So, I didn't know until I started looking into who she was and where she came from. But I also didn't know about Madripoor... and that's such a unique space of the MCU."

Contessa Valentina indeed is a part of deeper Marvel comics storylines, which haven't been hinted at in the last 12 years of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Now that Disney+ is offering Marvel a chance to make a vast interconnection between MCU stories, it's a great initiative to introduce and experiment with all kinds of characters and see how they can fit into the larger cinematic universe Marvel has created.

Producer Nate Moore who has been a part of ever-growing MCU since the very beginning added, "Whenever we talked about Valentina, even in the writer's room, she was sort of a more acerbic, funnier, but darker Nick Fury. Someone who knows her secrets, who's not afraid to operate in the moral gray area, but maybe who isn't as inherently altruistic."

Valentina Allegra de la Fontaine is a fan-favorite comic-book character, who had played a significant role as a S.H.I.E.L.D agent, later deputy director. She even got into a relationship with Nick Fury at a point. A romance angle between Sam Jackson and Louis-Dreyfus? Why the hell not?

Louis-Dreyfus's character arc in the MCU had a bold and even a bit of a comedic element in her cameo, which perfectly fits her personality and uses the actress's greatest skills as a comedian in an amazingly impactful manner. And it'll be just lovely to see more of her in the future of the franchise.

Most notably, and probably in a more sensible context to the MCU, Contessa Valentina served as the primary character in the Secret Invasionstoryline, where Fury discovers that his organization has been infiltrated by Skrulls and one of them has disguised as Contessa. Interestingly, a Secret Invasion Disney+ series is in the works as part of the MCU and it's possible that Louis-Dreyfus will be a prominent member of it.

The way she left a mark during the cameo appearance and the fact that she has an interest in recruiting the likes of John Walker for an unknown purpose has led to some crazy fan theories and speculations including Marvel Studios' possible adaptation of Thunderbolts storyline. Moreover, her connection to John Walker would mean that we aren't done with the U.S. Agent as well.

Though speculations about Contessa Valentina's future in the MCU are just rumors for now; however, hopefully, her introduction would raise some exciting tides soon in Marvel's shared continuity events in the franchise. This news originatd at Toronto Sun.