Thunderbolts* is finally giving Yelena Belova her biggest spotlight since her Marvel Cinematic Universe debut in The Black Widow. The MCU is no stranger to the concept of legacy heroes, as several new faces have joined the franchise throughout the last two phases. Following Natasha Romanoff’s sacrifice in Avengers: Endgame, the MCU has been focusing on Yelena as the next Black Widow, who is now a crucial part of the Thunderbolts* story.
Through several MCU movies and TV shows, Pugh’s Yelena has quickly become a big fan-favorite in the ever-growing Avengers-based franchise, as well as one of the most complex players. This is now putting her to the test as Yelena has to learn what it is like to work as part of a team with morally grey characters in the form of the Thunderbolts group. With this movie being the last installment in Phase 5 before several Thunderbolts* actors return for Avengers: Doomsday, fans will soon know how this new dynamic fits into the overall MCU.
ScreenRant’s Joe Deckelmeier spoke with Pugh recently about the next step in Yelena’s cinematic journey, elaborating on her character’s trauma and how it’s explored in Thunderbolts*. Throughout the interview, Pugh also discussed how established relationships get a different spotlight despite Yelena finding herself surrounded by a lot of new faces.
Florence Pugh Explains How Thunderbolts* Honors Yelena’s Journey Since Black Widow
“She Doesn’t Have Purpose Anymore, She Doesn’t Know Why She’s Here Anymore…”
Even though Thunderbolts* isn’t a Black Widow sequel, the Phase 5 finale elevates where Yelena came from, as Pugh was asked what parts of her character she wanted to make sure remained true to her character, while also allowing this movie to discover new layers about her. For Pugh, “There’s a huge difference between where she is now and the last time we saw her, even in Hawkeye.”
One of the aspects that Pugh “loved playing and I loved really introducing with her was just how she was just so excited for life, and she was so thrilled that she got to make her own choices.” After seeing how Black Widow explored her as “someone that is really excited about pockets that she has on her vest. She can’t wait to get a dog, Fanny Longbottom,” Pugh stressed how Yelena “can’t wait to explore the world. She’s just so ready to experience life. But then losing her sister really, really kneecaps her. It completely cuts off her savoring of life. She doesn’t have purpose anymore, she doesn’t know why she’s here anymore, and I really think she’s struggling to understand what she’s doing here.”
What does loss of pᴀssion and purpose look like? That was just a very cool thing to come back to and know that they trusted me to play that.
From all the experiences that Yelena has had in her MCU journey, Pugh explained that “one of the things that was so important for me to play was that we have to see that light in her a little bit dimmed. We have to see that she’s no longer the excitable girl that she was in Black Widow.”
But that is also what is “a really exciting thing,” for Pugh to get to do as an actor, which is “to actually show change in someone. What does grief look like? What does trauma look like? What does abandonment feel like? What does loss of pᴀssion and purpose look like? That was just a very cool thing to come back to and know that they trusted me to play that.”
Thunderbolts* Evolves Yelena & Red Guardian’s Family Dynamic In The Wake Of Their Grief
“We Can’t Not Have An Argument About What’s Happened To Us Since Natasha Died”
Something that the Thunderbolts* cast got to feature in the film was real emotional depth to the overall story as there is a lot of addressing of mental health with these individuals. When it came to tackling the depiction of Yelena’s vulnerable side, Pugh stressed that it was “so important” that the movie honors how her character is still dealing with Natasha’s death.
If Thunderbolts* had not included this element of Yelena’s return, “I wouldn’t have believed it if she weren’t [vulnerable].” Pugh added that “Natasha was her hero and her idol. She’s her big sister. Even when she was angry at her, she never stopped loving her.”
According to Pugh, “The idea that she’s gone and she never got to have that relationship that she finally got back in Black Widow? If I hadn’t have been able to play this beat, I would’ve been pissed off because it’s natural instincts,” while making it clear that she wants fans to get to see how the MCU “allow these characters to be human. You’ve got to allow them to feel. And also, the fans wouldn’t have liked it.”
In fact, Pugh and her Black Widow co-star, David Harbour, who is returning as Red Guardian in Thunderbolts*, had “really fought for with our relationship in the movie.” Pugh had to make it clear that “we can’t not have an argument about what’s happened to us since Natasha died. Even though we want to make a movie where people don’t have to see all the previous movies of all these characters, we cannot do that.“
Pugh explained that they couldn’t “the audience think that they’re stupid because, realistically, I would want that scene if I were watching and wasn’t in this movie.” She also added that “I’d want those two arguing. It was just very, very important to make sure that we’re constantly evolving and questioning and making sure that we have those beats of vulnerability.”
Thunderbolts* opens in theaters on May 2.
Check out our other Thunderbolts* interviews with:
- David Harbour (“Alexei Shostakov”) & Wyatt Russell (“John Walker”)
- Lewis Pullman (“Bob”) & Hannah John-Kamen (“Ava Starr”)
- Julia Louis-Dreyfus (“Valentina Allegra de Fontaine”) & Geraldine Viswanathan (“Mel”)
- Jake Schreier
- Eric Pearson
Source: ScreenRant Plus
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Thunderbolts*
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May 2, 2025
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