Marvel Studios' Black Widow will introduce Florence Pugh's Yelena Belova to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. While movigoers widely assumed the character is intended to take on the Black Widow mantle from Scarlett Johansson's Natasha Romanoff, Pugh appeared to be less certain when discussing the possibility of reprising her role in future Marvel films.
A decade after making her first appearance in Iron Man 2, Johansson's Black Widow will finally take the lead as the primary protagonist of her own standalone film. While Black Widow will explore Romanoff's past before she joined the Avengers, the film is also expected to lay the groundwork for a successor to take on the mantle after the eponymous heroine sacrificed her own life in Marvel Studios' Avengers: Endgame.
After Pugh was cast as Yelena Belova, she became the most likely candidate to carry the torch in the eyes of fans primarily due to the fact that she is one of the characters to assume the Black Widow moniker in the comics. During an interview with Total Film, Pugh commented on the excitement she feels about what the future could hold should she be invited back to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. However, Pugh seemed to indicate that whether or not she will reprise her role as Yelena depends on the reception towards her character, saying, "if that happens and I am lucky enough that people appreciate my character, that’s an exciting road to go on. I would be silly to not be excited by it. I think that being part of the Marvel club is a great honour. But we’ll just see if people like Yelena first."
Johansson, on the other hand, seemed more confidant that Pugh's character could return as the star of a Black Widow film series. "I definitely felt that way from the very beginning. She stands completely on her own. She’s strong and different. She’s so different to Natasha," Johansson said of her co-star. The long-time Marvel star added that some of the differences will stem from the age gap between Natasha and Yelena, saying, "you also see the generational difference, too, in how they react to things, and what they’re careful about, or what they’re careless about."
Due to COVID-19, fans may have to wait a while longer before sharing their thoughts on Pugh's performance as Yelena Belova. Originally scheduled for an early summer 2020 release, Black Widow was among the first Hollywood blockbusters to push back its release date in response to the theater shutdowns brought on by the pandemic.
Now, it appears Disney is considering delaying Black Widow once again, likely meaning another shakeup of the Marvel Studios' entire line-up of Phase 4 features. Should the film be postponed until 2021, it would make 2020 the first year without a Marvel Studios film being released in theaters since 2009.
Black Widow is scheduled to be released in theaters on November 6, 2020.
Source: Total Film