Things didn’t exactly slow down for Florence Pugh after her breakout role as Yelena Belova in Marvel’s Black Widow. While Don’t Worry Darling failed to land with critics or audiences, her starring roles in The Wonder and the animated Puss in Boots: The Last Wish have both received high marks and Pugh herself has become something of an “It” girl due to her red carpet appearances and her much-lauded daring sense of style. And the actor says part of her success is due to the pace she is expected to keep as one of the new members of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
“Working with Marvel has helped hugely. Their schedule is so precise—they know when they’re going to make it, when they’re going to release it,” Pugh told Vanity Fair for their 2023 Young Hollywood cover. The actress has yet to begin any filming for her next MCU project — that we know of — Thunderbolts, but was kept busy doing both Black Widow and the Disney Plus Hawkeye TV series during much of 2021. And according to Pugh, the schedule was nothing if not precise.
“If you want to fill your time with other things, you have to do it amongst that,” Pugh told VF. “You’re able to have a lot more leeway: ‘Oh, I’m going to be away doing this for this certain amount of time, so I need to make sure that I can get in a little indie here, or do a play.’ So that’s what I’m trying to do now.”
The hard stop schedules have ironically allowed Pugh the leeway to know exactly when she can and can’t. That freedom has landed her not only a role in an ongoing sci-fi franchise but also has her appearing in what’s rumored to be the biggest piece of Oscar bait to open this year. “I went into the year willing it to make it its own thing,” says Pugh. “And didn’t have any projects specifically lined up—like, hopefully there would be one special big thing or one special little thing. And lo and behold, I got Oppenheimer and then I got Dune.“
