by Yelena Belova, a character in the MCU, allegedly had to change following Black Widow.
Yelena found her missing family at the end of the 2021 movie that introduced Natasha Romanoff‘s younger sister and fellow assassin to Marvel audiences.
That pleasant ending, however, didn’t last very long, and neither did Florence Pugh’s Yelena Belova as the Black Widow.
Yelena Belova Can Be Changed, Says Florence Pugh
Florence Pugh discussed playing Yelena Belova after the events of Black Widow in an interview with Marvel for Marvel Studios’ Hawkeye: The Official Collector Special.
Pugh stated that if Yelena were to return from the dead, she “would be a completely different person” even before Hawkeye:
“I think when we finished Black Widow I knew in the back of my head that if this character was asked to come back, [she] would be a completely different person because the whole film, the whole storyline of Black Widow, is that she’s got her sister back and she’s found her family again.”
Black Widow is a prequel, although its post-credits scene, which fast-forwarded through the events of the MCU to depict Yelena visiting Natasha’s grave after Avengers: Endgame, cannot be considered a prequel.
Pugh asserted to have considered how Yelena would be affected by her sister’s Endgame sacrifice, claiming,
“I knew going into that film that Natasha didn’t make it back into her life, so from the get-go, I was automatically thinking about where [Yelena’s] mind was at. How does she find out [about Natasha’s death]? Who tells her? How does she react? Who does she go after?”
She found it “fascinating” to be “in my character’s head – a good person, but to everyone else, she is bad:” It’s interesting that she didn’t expect Yelena to pursue Clint Barton
“I did not see it coming, that they were going to put me and Clint against each other, which I thought was a really cool twist. So, I think in my head I’d already done the planning. I was really happy to have such a raw and painful revenge. It was fascinating to be – in my character’s head – a good person, but to everybody else, she is bad. That was an interesting line to walk.”
Yelena was given to Pugh “the freedom to create a new character,” and Black Widow director Cate Shortland instructed her to give the character “essentially whatever you want it to be:”
“I think from the get-go on Marvel Studios’ Black Widow, I was really awarded the space and the opportunity and the freedom to create a new character, and that was totally down to director Cate Shortland. As exciting as it is to come into these big films, you’re always interested and wanting to know how much freedom you have with these characters. I was just so amazed and excited that Cate was like, ‘Look, this is yours. It’s going to go to you. You’re going to continue this character, and you make it essentially whatever you want it to be.’ That was just so exciting and thrilling for me.”
It didn’t take long for the upcoming Oppenheimer actor to continue playing her role.
Pugh reprised her role as Hawkeye in late 2021, bringing to the Disney+ series both her assassin abilities and her fondness of macaroni and cheese with hot sauce. Black Widow had just made its theatrical and Disney+ debuts in July.
Yelena’s impulsive personality was mentioned by Pugh, who noted her “unexpected edge:”
“So I’ve always wanted Yelena to be that she has kind of an unexpected edge to her. You don’t really know whether she’s going to be in a great mood, or a [bad] mood.”
She interacts with Kate Bishop in an amusing and occasionally unsettling way on purpose as well because, as the forthcoming Thunderbolts star reveals, “I wanted her to be a bit odd:”
“I wanted her to be a bit odd and for her timing to be unnatural. I think that’s something that makes her quite loveable because she’s just this incredibly inter-changing character. Coming into this series, knowing what we had done with Marvel Studios’ ‘Black Widow’ and knowing where I’d come from, that was an amazing gift to be given. And then, of course, in terms of storyline, the difference of Marvel Studios’ ‘Black Widow’ to this is miles away because she’s a changed person now.”
Is Yelena Belova in for any other changes?
Florence Pugh should have a lot of acting practise for Black Widow.
In addition to having full creative control over the character, Yelena underwent a full arc in Black Widow, despite the fact that she was aware the journey had already happened.
In the post-credits scene for Black Widow, Pugh introduced a more experienced Yelena for her next adventure. A few months later, she did the same for Hawkeye, when she was motivated by grief and retaliation.
It’s no minor accomplishment that the actress managed to pull this off while still creating Yelena Belova a beloved character, and it’s even more astounding when you understand how she approached the role from the beginning.
Her MCU career has only just begun in many respects, though.
She hasn’t been in a Marvel movie since 2021’s Hawkeye, but the Thunderbolts, an ensemble picture, will feature her character again.
She’s reunited with many of her Black Widow cast members, including Julia Louis-Dreyfus’ Val, David Harbour’s Red Guardian, and Olga Kurylenko’s Taskmaster, in addition to having the chance to interact with even more MCU characters.
How did Yelena alter between Hawkeye and Thunderbolts, and will she also be a “different person” in the future movie, wonders Florence Pugh?
The actress is currently filming Thunderbolts, and she also has roles in Oppenheimer and Dune: Part Two this year. As a result, fans can expect to learn more about Pugh’s intentions for Yelena in the upcoming months.
Disney+ has Black Widow and Hawkeye available for streaming, and on July 26, 2024, Thunderbolts will be released in theatres.
