Marvel Studios are notoriously stingy when it comes to divulging plot details on each new release, even resorting to such elaborate ploys as fake scripts in order to keep info on Avengers: Infinity War and the upcoming Avengers 4 under wraps.
Nonetheless, with so many people involved in each project, and with cast and crew members having to sit through interview after interview of saying plenty while revealing little, it’s inevitable that someone sooner or later someone will let a spoiler or two slip out. In Cobie Smulders’ case, however, the information never got further than her own husband, actor Taran Killam.
Smulders’ appearance in Infinity War was a decidedly brief one, with Maria Hill’s screen-time being saved for a post-credits sequence opposite Nick Fury. All the same, had any dedicated fans of Marvel’s comics been told how this one scene would unfold, it wouldn’t be too much of a stretch to piece together that Thanos’ genocidal plan was ultimately a success. Killam reports that his wife was unusually open about the part she’d play in the Marvel mega-hit, but ultimately didn’t understand the significance of Maria’s disappearance.
“I remember when Cobie first told me she was auditioning for the first Avengers, just that was enough to get me so excited. [I was like] ‘Do you want me to read with you? We should rehearse again, right? Let’s do it one more time. What’s she going to wear?’ She actually snuck me a little illegal photo from the screen test. She did a screen test with about four or five other actresses. Infinity War was the first time where she let me know what was going to happen. Her tag was added on later in the schedule. She’s like, ‘Yeah, I’m there and then I disappear?’ I was like, ‘God, what does this mean? What does this mean?’”
It’s a good thing that Killam kept this confusing news to himself, or you can bet that plenty of Marvel fans would’ve been able work out exactly what Smulders meant.
Seeing how the pair are married and all, it’s hard to hold this moment of weakness against Smulders, with her spoiler being far less reckless than the more public revelations from her Avengers: Infinity War co-stars Mark Ruffalo and Tom Holland. But speaking of the latter, you can expect to see Peter Parker, Maria Hill and Nick Fury back on our screens and un-dusted when Spider-Man: Far From Home hits theaters on July 5th, 2019, if not sooner in Avengers 4.