With Florence Pugh’s return as Yelena Belova in Thunderbolts*, Marvel Studios finally has the chance to tell us the Black Widow story we wanted back in Phase 4 of the MCU. English actor Florence Pugh debuted as Yelena Belova in 2021’s Black Widow, where she was introduced as another Black Widow ᴀssᴀssin who spent her formative years living undercover in Ohio with Natasha Romanoff as her sister. This sisterhood persisted into their adulthoods, and will be examined further in Jake Schreier’s upcoming Thunderbolts* crossover, in the wake of Natasha Romanoff’s Avengers: Endgame sacrifice.
Natasha Romanoff’s Black Widow was central to the MCU between her debut in 2010’s Iron Man 2 and her departure in Endgame. In Thunderbolts*, her surrogate sister will be stepping up to the plate to ᴀssume an important position among the тιтular antihero team. Yelena Belova’s increased focus in the MCU means that Marvel Studios could explore some previously-unseen aspects of Natasha Romanoff’s character and backstory more than ever before. This might also mean Marvel could finally tell the Black Widow story we wanted after a flashback in Avengers: Age of Ultron.
Black Widow Didn’t Give Us The Natasha Romanoff Story We Wanted After Age Of Ultron
Natasha Romanoff Relived Her Troubled Past In Age Of Ultron
Back in 2015’s Avengers: Age of Ultron, Wanda Maximoff’s Scarlet Witch fought against the Avengers by giving them intense and realistic visions. For Natasha Romanoff, this involved her being thrust back into her past, reliving her training in the Red Room and the sterilization ceremony. This was traumatic for Romanoff, but very enticing for audiences, as this vision left us wanting to see Black Widow’s history before defecting to SHEILD examined in closer detail. 2021’s Black Widow movie had this opportunity, but failed to explore this history as much as we wanted.
Instead, Natasha Romanoff’s history with her family in Ohio and her training in the Red Room boiled down to just a few minutes. Black Widow opened with her family escaping Ohio, while her life in the Red Room was shown during the movie’s opening credits. The rest of Black Widow took place entirely in the time between 2016’s Captain America: Civil War and 2018’s Avengers: Infinity War. It’s a shame that Marvel Studios failed to give us the Black Widow story we actually wanted, perhaps an honest-to-goodness prequel, but Thunderbolts* can redeem this missed opportunity.
Thunderbolts* May Explore Yelena Belova’s History As A Black Widow In More Detail
Thunderbolts*’ New Trailer Reveals More About Yelena’s Past
The newest trailer for Thunderbolts* seems to include moments from Yelena Belova’s past, most likely being shown to her after she walks into the dark shadow of Lewis Pullman’s Void. While these scenes will, no doubt, be intense and emotional, these could offer the perfect way for more of Natasha Romanoff and Yelena Belova’s history as Black Widow ᴀssᴀssins to be explored. We could be shown a young Yelena in the Red Room, while more of Romanoff’s history could also be explored, especially since Scarlett Johansson is still connected to Thunderbolts* as an executive producer.
While Scarlett Johansson’s Natasha Romanoff took center-stage for most of her MCU career, it’ll be Florence Pugh’s Yelena Belova becoming a main character in Thunderbolts*. Despite not having any superhuman powers, Yelena Belova’s new Black Widow, or perhaps White Widow, will be something of a leader among the Thunderbolts team, which makes sense given her connections to the Red Guardian, Valentina and Taskmaster. It’ll be great to see Yelena be given more attention in the MCU, and hopefully to see more of her history brought to life in Thunderbolts*.
Upcoming MCU Movies
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Thunderbolts*
- Release Date
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May 2, 2025
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The Fantastic Four: First Steps
- Release Date
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July 25, 2025
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Avengers: Doomsday
- Release Date
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May 1, 2026
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Spider-Man: Brand New Day
- Release Date
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July 31, 2026
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Avengers: Secret Wars
- Release Date
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May 7, 2027
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