Florence Pugh is currently out on the promotional rounds for Greta Gerwig’s Little Women, although as you might expect, many of the questions the British actress has faced concern her upcoming role as Yelena Belova in Marvel’s Black Widow movie.
Speaking to Glamour Magazine, Pugh spoke briefly about her excitement over the role, although she was cautious not to give anything away about the Scarlett Johansson-headlined solo film:
“I’m not bad at keeping secrets, it’s just that you don’t know what you can and can’t say,” said Pugh. I can say it was epic on all levels. It is very unique and special to be in this era of superhero films with Scarlett and all these women who have been desperate to make a story about this character for so long – I got to see the Black Widow in action! I really enjoy stunts. I wanted to do as many stunts, so straight away I learnt kickboxing and knife training! I’d only known [Scarlett] for a week when we started beating each other up.”
In the comic books, Yelena has taken on the role of the Black Widow, and given the fate of Johansson’s Natasha in Avengers: Endgame, there’s been a lot of speculation that the Marvel Cinematic Universe could follow suit. However, speaking to Uproxx, Pugh also downplayed the speculation about her character inheriting the Black Widow mantle moving forward:
“I actually will say when we were making it, it wasn’t anything like that at all. 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. And 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. And also a lot of people I think will appreciate this story.”
SEE ALSO: Watch the Black Widow trailer here
Of course, Pugh isn’t going to come out and admit it if the plan is for Yelena to take over the Black Widow role in future movies, but only time will tell if we’ll be seeing more of Natasha’s Red Room sister beyond the Phase Four-launching film.
Black Widow is being directed by Cate Shortland (Lore) and sees Scarlett Johansson reprising her role as Natasha Romanoff alongside Florence Pugh (Fighting With My Family) as Yelena Belova, O-T Fagbenle (The Handmaid’s Tale) as Mason, David Harbour (Stranger Things) as Alexei Shostakov/Red Guardian, Rachel Weisz (The Favourite) as Melina Vostokoff/Iron Maiden, and Ray Winstone (Sexy Beast) and Olivier Richters (The King’s Man) in as-yet-unrevealed roles.
