Over the last year, critics have praised Florence Pugh for her performances in Fighting With My Family, Midsommar, and Little Women. And next summer, she’ll lend her newfound star power to the MCU when she plays Yelena Belova in Black Widow. Fans know that Yelena appears in Marvel’s comic book universe as another character who adopts the Black Widow mantle. However, Pugh herself insists that we shouldn’t expect her to follow in Natasha Romanoff’s footsteps anytime soon.
Pugh recently spoke to Uproxx about everything she accomplished in 2019. When Black Widow came up, she was asked if Yelena will succeed Scarlett Johansson as Marvel Studios’ resident assassin-turned-Avenger. After all, the upcoming film takes place before Johansson’s character met her tragic demise in Avengers: Endgame. But according to Pugh, setting up Yelena’s long-term future in the MCU isn’t Black Widow’s intention.
“I actually will say when we were making it, it wasn’t anything like that at all,” said Pugh. “And I am saying it very honestly, it certainly didn’t feel like a passing of the torch kind of film when we were making it. I think the direction and the feeling and the vibe behind it was genuinely just trying to make this complicated and painful story. And do it justice because a lot of fans have been waiting for her film.”
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The movie’s trailer, which debuted online earlier this month, teased the complicated relationship between Yelena and Natasha. It’s fairly obvious that both characters went through the same rigorous training at the infamous Red Room facility. As Natasha revealed in Avengers: Age of Ultron, a stint in this facility comes with some baggage, and it seems like this is what director Cate Shortland wanted to focus on in Black Widow.
“And also a lot of people I think will appreciate this story,” added Pugh. “Cate’s done an amazing job on showing these two girls and, I suppose, facing their history and facing their pain. The direction was more on that front. But I’m happy that people have appreciated the trailer and I’m looking forward to watching it.”
Black Widow hits theaters on May 1, 2020.
Would you like to see Florence Pugh’s Yelena Belova take over as the new Black Widow in the MCU? Tell us what you think in the comment section below!
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