WARNING: Spoilers for Hawkeye Episode 4 below!
It really shouldn’t be much of a spoiler that a certain character teased as intertwined with Hawkeye…would show up on Hawkeye. But when Florence Pugh had to delete an Instagram post revealing her appearance, Marvel made clear they considered it a spoilable offense. As did numerous fans who angrily unfollowed her. But long before that happened, Hawkeye head writer Jonathan Igla had to keep the secret in reverse. His team knew Yelena Belova would be part of their series. But they couldn’t know about the Black Widow mid-credits scene teasing her future fight with Clint Barton. He pitched the character originally, got approval, and wrote her in before Kevin Feige told him about the Widow scene.
And asked him not to tell anyone else.
“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,” Igla told The Hollywood Reporter. “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.”
RELATED: Florence Pugh Gets Captured by Hot Toys in New Yelena Figure
Likewise, Feige didn’t tell Black Widow writer Eric Pearson what the scene he had to write would lead into. “I remember writing it and feeling super guilty,” he recalls thinking. “I hope whatever writer is working on this next chapter is going to be OK with what I’ve done to them.”
Little did anyone know that by the time Yelena arrived, fans would have moved on to obsessing about whether Daredevil or Kingpin will be involved.
What did you think of Yelena’s arrival? Did it come as a surprise? Let us know in comments.
Recommended Reading: Hawkeye, Vol. 1: My Life as a Weapon
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