‘Hawkeye’: ‘Black Widow’ Post Credits Scene Was Kept A Secret To Writers

As expected, everything is connected!

Black Widow Florence Pugh Scarlett Johansson

Marvel Studios kept the Black Widow post-credits scene with Yelena Belova a secret from the writers of the Hawkeye series.

During the post-credits scene of Marvel Studios’ Black Widow, we see Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh) at the gravesite of her sister Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson). As she mourns, she is visited by Contessa Valentina Allegra de la Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfuss) where she sends her on a hit mission against Clint Barton/Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) to get revenge for Natasha’s death.

SPOILER WARNING FOR HAWKEYE EPISODE 4 DOWN BELOW.

During the climax of Hawkeye Episode 4, we see Clint and Kate Bishop (Hailee Steinfeld) together fighting against Echo (Alaqua Cox) and a masked figure. Towards the end of the fight, that masked figure is revealed to be none other than Yelena Belova, much to the dismay of Clint. This particular moment is one of the first direct connections between a Phase 4 film and TV series.

This integral moment between Clint and Yelena Belova in Hawkeye was something that was planned out for more interconnected tissue in the MCU, but the series’ headwriter Jonathan Igla revealed to THR that he had to hide the Black Widow post-credits scene from the Hawkeye writing staff to prevent the secret from being revealed too early:

“There was a length of time where I wasn’t supposed to share it with the rest of the writing staff. There were a handful of things like that, which was challenging. I did my best. I like to think that I’m an honest broker and if somebody tells me not to share something, even if I think, ‘Well the writing staff really needs to know this,’ then I’m just going to trust their process …. I kept it under my hat for awhile.

I had made the case to Kevin and Lou and Victoria that Yelena had a place in our story and this was the right place for her next chapter. So I think the scene was created to support that. Obviously, the rest of the writing staff knew we were building pitches around her as soon as I got the thumbs up.”

It’s safe to say that we will see the continuing tensions between Yelena Belova and Clint Barton in the next episode of Hawkeye. Here is the synopsis for the series:

Former Avenger Clint Barton has a seemingly simple mission: get back to his family for Christmas. Possible? Maybe with the help of Kate Bishop, a 22-year-old archer with dreams of becoming a Super Hero. The two are forced to work together when a presence from Barton’s past threatens to derail far more than the festive spirit.

Hawkeye stars Jeremy Renner, Hailee Steinfeld, Tony Dalton, Fra Free, Brian d’Arcy James, Aleks Paunovic, Piotr Adamczyk, Florence Pugh, Linda Cardellini, Simon Callow, Vera Farmiga and Alaqua Cox.

The first four episodes of Hawkeye are now available to stream on Disney Plus, with new episodes dropping on Wednesdays. Stay tuned for all the latest news surrounding the Jeremy Renner series, the future of Black Widow’s Yelena Belova and the rest of the MCU, and be sure to subscribe to Heroic Hollywood’s YouTube channel for more original video content.

Source: THR

Noah Villaverde

Noah Villaverde

Cinema lover. Saxophone player. Coffee consumer. Chronic complainer. Oh, I also write. #TeamHeroic