It may have been Scarlett Johansson’s solo adventure, but for every second Florence Pugh was onscreen there was the very real danger that Black Widow‘s Yelena Belova was going to steal the entire movie from right under the nose of her onscreen sister Natasha Romanoff.
Pugh’s snarky, sarcastic, foul-mouthed and ass-kicking performance has already gone down a storm with Marvel Cinematic Universe fans, who would have been thrilled to discover the Academy Award nominated actress will be back on our screens before the end of the year, with the post-credits scene of Black Widow setting Yelena up to be a serious thorn in the side of Jeremy Renner’s Clint Barton when Hawkeye arrives on Disney Plus.
In a new interview, Pugh addressed getting to be a part of one of the MCU’s famous stingers in her very first appearance, and gave an indication as to where Yelena’s head will be at next time we see her.
“I was doing scenes again with Scarlett, and being strapped to her on various machines, and us giggling again. And then, the following week, I was at her grave! It was quite shocking to fast-forward that quickly, but wonderful to have only seen Scarlett the week previous. I think it would have been sadder if it had been many, many months later.
She’s going to continue what she’s good at, and despite her sister not being there, she’s back working. If you look at her costume, and you look at the way that she’s dressed herself, it shows someone that’s flourishing. So to me, it was just really wonderful to kind of jump ahead and see she has been surviving But, of course, it sets up a whole different challenge, which is Natasha’s fighting partner.”
Kevin Feige is thrilled at the way audiences have been reacting to and embracing the string of new characters being introduced throughout Phase Four so far, and it wouldn’t be hyperbolic to say that the long-running superhero series may have struck gold by recruiting Pugh. Widely regarded as one of the fastest-rising talents in the industry, it’s understandable why director Cate Shortland is already talking about Black Widow sequels with Natasha’s fellow Red Room survivor replacing her predecessor at the helm.
Yelena looks to be in cahoots with Contessa Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, and she’s been a member of the Thunderbolts in the comic books before, so one potential future storyline is already well in motion ahead of Pugh’s quickfire return to the fray.