With regard to upcoming projects, Marvel Studios is renowned for taking enormous pains to maintain as many secrets as possible. As a prominent figure in the forthcoming flick Thunderbolts*, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, who will be reprising her role as Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, can attest to this.
Fresh off the MCU’s eminent stages of Black Widow and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, the actress is all set to grace the big screen in Jake Schreier’s much-anticipated 2025 release. You must be unaware, though, of how a very casual chat helped her land a role in the MCU.
Recently, on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, the actress, 63, shared a slice of her Marvel journey, while also confirming the production wrap-up on Thunderbolts*. True to the hush-hush culture of Marvel Studios, details were scant, but what’s not a secret anymore is that her performances in Seinfeld and Veep captured the attention of MCU’s visionaries, Kevin Feige and Louis D’Esposito.
This is the kind of informal casting that might make Robert Downey Jr. green with envy. After all, Marvel’s initial hesitance with the actor due to his past is well-documented in Hollywood lore.
Julia Louis-Dreyfus Reflects on Securing Her Role in the Marvel Cinematic Universe
Marvel Studios is famous for keeping a tight lid on their upcoming shows & movies, but Julia Louis-Dreyfus managed to spill a few beans about her highly anticipated film Thunderbolts*. In a recent interview on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, the actress revealed that filming for Jake Schreier’s helmed flick was completed this past week.
However, the Seinfeld star couldn’t give away too many details, as is customary for any Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) film. The actress remarked in jest:
When you work with these people, you have to sign a NDA every three-and-a-half seconds.
Louis-Dreyfus plays the character Valentina Allegra de Fontaine in Thunderbolts*, a role she reprised from her earlier appearances in Black Widow, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.
The actress then shared how she got involved with the MCU during the podcast interview, recounting a casual meeting with Marvel bigwigs Kevin Feige and Louis D’Esposito:
They were big Seinfeld and Veep fans. I think they just wanted to talk about those shows. We were chatting about this episode and that episode, and then they popped the question, ‘Would you ever want to do something?’ And I said, ‘Yeah, it’d be so much fun, and my boys would freak out’. That’s how it began.
The nonchalant manner in which Louis-Dreyfus landed her Marvel role is a stark contrast to the uphill battle Robert Downey Jr. faced when auditioning for the role of Iron Man.
Marvel Studios’ Initial Doubts About Casting Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark
Marvel Studios was initially doubtful to cast Robert Downey Jr. due to his troubled past, which included struggles with substance abuse and multiple arrests. In relation to drug charges involving cocaine, heroin, and marijuana, the actor, 59, was arrested several times between 1996 and 2001 (see Time).
However, the studio eventually took a chance on the actor, resulting in his iconic portrayal of Tony Stark in Jon Favreau’s 2008 film. Looking back, Feige told CinemaBlend that the MCU would not be where it is today without the Oppenheimer actor. As a result, while it was the biggest “risk”, it also yielded the biggest reward because it laid the groundwork for the franchise:
He wasn’t a marquee star, necessarily. And we quickly realized the risk, I’ve said this before, was not casting him. And Jon Favreau really had that vision for that movie and for Robert in that role. That decision, and the success of that decision, I think empowered us with further risks and further choices.
Needless to say, his portrayal of Iron Man became a defining role not just for the actor but also for the character in the MCU. With over $585 million in box office receipts worldwide (Box Office Mojo), Iron Man’s performance was highly praised by critics and audiences alike.
Despite Downey Jr.’s emotional exit from the franchise in Avengers: Endgame, fans continue to speculate about the character’s potential return in a future MCU project. Whether through holograms, flashbacks, or the multiverse, the desire to see Iron Man back on screen remains strong among fans.
Thunderbolts* will be released on May 5, 2025, while Iron Man is streaming on Disney+.
