In the grand scheme of things, Black Widow doesn’t have the most exciting post-credits scene in Marvel Cinematic Universe history, and that’s especially true for audiences who haven’t been keeping up to date with the Disney Plus shows.
For those blissfully unaware of what’s transpired across WandaVision, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier and Loki, there’s no explanation as to who Julia-Louis Dreyfus’ Contessa Valentina Allegra de Fontaine is, or how she could possibly be connected to Florence Pugh’s Yelena Belova. Not only that, but if you didn’t know Jeremy Renner was getting his own streaming series later this year that features Pugh in a supporting role, then you could be left more confused than excited.
Obviously, Kevin Feige admitted a long time ago that you’ll need a Disney Plus subscription to remain up to date with the latest happenings in the MCU, but that doesn’t mean everyone who heads to the theater to see the movies is necessarily obligated to stump up that monthly fee. In a new interview, Black Widow director Cate Shortland admitted that the post-credits stinger almost ended on a blatant fan-baiting note where Yelena would hear a response to her unanswered whistle, but she ultimately decided against it.
“I think we even… No, we never put it in. But we talked about it.”
That would have probably been a step too far, teasing fans with the possibility of a Scarlett Johansson return when the actress has called Black Widow her fond farewell several times over. As it stands, it already set Yelena up as being in the Contessa’s employ, a possible Thunderbolt and a major adversary for Clint Barton, so it still managed to accomplish plenty in the space of a minute or two without making promises it might not be able to keep.