Avengers: Doomsday‘s cast has been confirmed, leading me to believe that Marvel will finally confirm the true successor to Black Widow in the MCU. In March 2025, a surprise announcement by Marvel Studios confirmed the various names expected to appear on Avengers: Doomsday‘s cast list. This came in the form of a live stream that revealed several set chairs, each embellished with the name of a known MCU actor, to confirm the first batch of heroes that will fight against Robert Downey Jr.’s Doctor Doom in Avengers: Doomsday‘s anticipated story.
Concerning the 27 names on the Avengers: Doomsday cast list, some were bigger announcements than others. The reveal that classic X-Men actors like Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, James Marsden, Rebecca Romijn, and Alan Cumming were going to be part of the upcoming MCU movie was huge, while the confirmation of the likes of Anthony Mackie, Chris Hemsworth, and Simu Liu, to name a few, was expected. More expected names came in the form of the cast of Thunderbolts*, with one member confirmed for Avengers: Doomsday convincing me that Black Widow’s MCU replacement will finally be made official.
Yelena Belova Has Been Set Up As Black Widow’s Successor After Natasha’s Death
Natasha’s Sister Makes Sense As Her Successor
The character in question is Yelena Belova, played by Florence Pugh. Pugh was one of the names adorning the backs of the chairs in the Avengers: Doomsday cast announcement, confirming her – and other members of the Thunderbolts* roster – as part of the 2026 film. Since the ending of the Infinity Saga in 2019, only Yelena has been positioned as a true MCU successor to Black Widow. This began with 2021’s Black Widow movie, in which Yelena received a great deal of focus as a future member of the MCU.
Florence Pugh’s performance was singled out in Black Widow, with many audience members hoping she would continue to be a part of the franchise. This proved to be the case, edging Yelena closer to becoming her sister’s successor. After all, Iron Man has already received a successor in the form of Ironheart, while the mantle of Captain America was pᴀssed down from Steve Rogers to Sam Wilson. Many ᴀssumed the same would happen with the hero mantle of Black Widow and that Yelena would be the beneficiary given how the MCU has seemingly set up this storyline.
The MCU Has Avoided Giving Yelena A Hero Mantle Of Her Own Despite Her MCU Arc
Yelena Has Simply Been Know As Yelena So Far In The Franchise
Despite the hints that Yelena would become the next Black Widow, the MCU has failed to give her an official hero mantle thus far. Although Yelena has appeared in two major MCU projects, four by the time Thunderbolts* and Avengers: Doomsday are released, she is still yet to be called by a superhero name. This came as a surprise to many, especially given the importance of her character to several facets of the Multiverse Saga and the expectation that the pᴀssing of the Black Widow torch would come sooner rather than later.
Even the trailers for Thunderbolts*, which have often included тιтle cards for each individual character, label Yelena as such, as opposed to any hero mantle.
Since her debut in 2021, Yelena’s arc has certainly been worthy of a superhero name. She was responsible for helping Black Widow take down the Red Room in the aforementioned movie before going on to play an important role in Hawkeye. In that show, she befriended a future MCU Young Avenger, Kate Bishop, and fought against Clint Barton before learning that her sister willingly sacrificed her life and that the latter did not kill her. Now she is set to appear in Thunderbolts* and Avengers: Doomsday, making her lack of a hero name all the more baffling.
Cementing Yelena As The MCU’s Official Black Widow Successor In Avengers: Doomsday Would Make Perfect Sense For The Character & Franchise
It Would Be A Logical Culmination
Given that Yelena has been set up as the MCU’s Black Widow successor but never received the тιтle, Avengers: Doomsday would be the perfect place to do so now that Pugh has been confirmed. Where the character is concerned, Yelena has spent the last few MCU projects coming to terms with the death of her sister, especially in Hawkeye. Thunderbolts* will then place her front and center of a new team, with her character arc likely involving her finding a purpose after feeling stuck and unfulfilled, as the first trailer for the film indicated she felt.
This purpose could be cemented in Avengers: Doomsday, with Yelena finally taking on the mantle of Black Widow and fighting to save the multiverse as the hero. This would also make sense for the franchise as a whole. Avengers: Doomsday is the first film in the series since Avengers: Endgame, during which the original Black Widow died. Therefore, having Natasha’s successor be confirmed as her sister in the next film in the series would feel thematically resonant and honor the fallen hero, allowing the perfect choice for the hero mantle to fight in her sister’s name in Avengers: Doomsday‘s climactic story.
