You might think that Kang the Conqueror is the most important player tying the Multiverse Saga together, but actually, as things currently stand Jonathan Majors’ big bad has only appeared the twice (with a third coming in Loki season two, sure). Meanwhile, Julia Louis-Dreyfus has already clocked up cameos in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Black Widow, and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, as she proves herself to be the real new Samuel L. Jackson of the MCU.

We’re at the point where we’re half-expecting Contessa Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (call her Val) to show up in every single MCU project set on contemporary Earth. So it’s surprising to hear that Louis-Dreyfus apparently isn’t on course to appear in one of the upcoming Marvel movies that would make the most sense for her to show up. Probably a lot more than Black Panther 2, to be honest. Especially as we’ve always expected it to be closely linked to Thunderbolts, in which Val will have a starring role.

The film in question is Captain America: Brave New World, which has allegedly undergone something of a story shift since it was first developed. According to “scooper” CWGST, Val was supposed to appear in Cap 4 but this changed once screenwriter Lee Sung Jin was brought aboard to revitalize the script for director Julius Onah’s production. CWGST is now claiming that there’s no place for Louis-Dreyfus in proceedings, unless she makes a last-minute appearance in a post-credits scene.

Given that Brave New World ties neatly into Thunderbolts thanks to Harrison Ford’s General Ross debuting, with everyone expecting him to transform into Red Hulk somewhere along the line, it’s surprising that Cap 4 won’t set up Jake Schreier’s anti-hero team-up flick more directly. That said, potentially wandering by in an end credits sequence is definitely more Val’s style than taking center stage.

Captain America: Brave New World is scheduled for release on July 26, 2024 while Thunderbolts is officially due on Dec. 20, 2024.