Julia Louis-Dreyfus Says We Will Finally Get to Know Valentina's "Entire Plan" in Marvel's THUNDERBOLTS*

After years of mysterious appearances in the MCU including The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Black Widow, and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Julia Louis-Dreyfus’s Contessa Valentina Allegra de Fontaine will finally reveal all of her schemes in Marvel's Thunderbolts*, and the actor promises it'll be worth the wait.

Louis-Dreyfus talked to Entertainment Weekly about how the upcoming anti-hero/villain team-up film compares to her previous Marvel Cinematic Universe cameos, saying:

"It's a completely different beast. This movie's a real opportunity for me to really explore the Val character. You really get to know what she's made of, and even a lot of her backstory. She's in it to win it."

The Seinfeld and Veep star had no idea when she first signed on to play this character where she would end up, but once she learned what happens in this movie, she got really excited.

"You're going to see her entire plan unfold," she confirms with a smile. "It has a lot of mystery to it and there's some twists and turns that you don't see coming, which are the best kind. There's a lot of suspense, which is very groovy."

Ever since Val first popped up in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier to recruit John Walker's misguided U.S. Agent (Wyatt Russell) for vague purposes, she's gone on to collect more morally questionable, formidable fighters to her cause, including Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh) at the end of Black Widow.

Her last appearance in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever revealed she's now the head of the CIA, and with her new power, she set up her own ex-husband Everett Ross (Martin Freeman) to get arrested, proving that there's no line she won't cross to get what she wants.

"Her intentions aren't necessarily pure," Louis-Dreyfus says. "You've got hero, you've got anti-hero, you have villain...is there such a thing as an anti-villain?"

While Louis-Dreyfus says that Thunderbolts won't continue to explore Val's relationship with Ross, fans will see some of her rich history in the comics that hasn't been seen onscreen yet finally brought to life.

"When I got this gig, my husband got me the first Marvel comic in which her character is revealed," the actor says as she shows off the vintage comic book on her desk.

"It's the original, isn't that cool? But yeah, some of her earlier schemes are going to be revealed, and you're going to get a better understanding of why she behaves the way she does."

Thunderbolts*, which also stars returning MCU actors Sebastian Stan, David Harbour, and Hannah John-Kamen along with franchise newcomers Lewis Pullman and Geraldine Viswanathan, is centered on depressed assassin Yelena "alongside the MCU’s least anticipated band of misfits," according to the official logline.

And while Val seems to be controlling each one of the mismatched team members, Louis-Dreyfus says Val fits in with the group more than she may realize.

"She's sort of a misfit in a strange way, even though she would not characterize herself as such," Louis-Dreyfus says. "She's somebody who's definitely trying to prove herself. And in that sense, maybe she has something in common with the Thunderbolts... But that's me saying that. I'm not sure she understands that."

And while Val sees herself as the Nick Fury-type leader, she may not be as in control of the Thunderbolts as she thinks. "She is about four steps ahead all the time, or at least she thinks she is until she's not," Louis-Dreyfus teases.

"All of these characters have worked for her under certain circumstances, so she would fancy herself as a bit of a puppet master, and she's very power-hungry. She's a user of anti-heroes. She definitely sees herself as the leader, the organizer of this group, but I'm not sure they see her as such."

After Marvel's massive 2024 Comic-Con panel in July, Louis-Dreyfus excitedly revealed to EW that she got to do her "fair share of kicking ass" in the movie. "I'll be honest with you, she throws one punch," the actor now says. "But it's an effective punch."

While she can't reveal who Val punches, she "loved" getting in on the action with that one moment. "I wish I could have done more of it," Louis-Dreyfus says. "I felt like a badass. And I was wearing a really cool black leather coat and it just felt exactly correct. It was phenomenal."

As for the rest of the action, Louis-Dreyfus loves how there are more grounded fight scenes and stunts than what fans may be expecting from a big MCU movie.

"What's great about this film is it's got sort of a grittiness that matches up well with the comedy, and there's not a lot of green screen," she says. "There's not these special effects that go on for hours. It's people doing their own stunts. It's got a rawness that I think the audience is going to very much enjoy, sort of going back to roots in that sense."

That's what Louis-Dreyfus is most excited for longtime Marvel fans to see from this film — but there are two in particular she's thinking about.

"My kids — I have two boys who are now young men, and they're huge Marvel fanatics," she says. "I'm kind of only doing this so that they'll be impressed. I can't wait for them to see the movie. I think they're going to get a real kick out of it."

She laughs as she admits she hasn't told them a single secret or spoiler about the movie. But it hasn't been for lack of trying. "People have been trying to pull [spoilers] out of me, and I just live in fear that I'm going to say something that I shouldn't.

"I've never been involved with a project like this where so much is kept under wraps. It's like working for the CIA of show business. I am so terrified that I'm going to f--- up unwittingly. But so far I haven't."

Louis-Dreyfus shows off her secret-keeping skills once more when asked what the mysterious asterisk in the movie title means: "I can't tell you."

I can’t wait to see how this mysterious movie pans out, and what it reveals.

Thunderbolts opens in theaters on May 2, 2025.