Who is Florence Pugh in the Upcoming 'Black Widow' Movie?
The new teaser trailer for next year's 'Black Widow' movie starring Scarlett Johansson dropped on Tuesday to the excitement of Marvel fans. Fans have highly anticipated 'Black Widow,' many believing that a movie starring the principle female member of the Avengers has been long overdue. It's been promised that we will learn even more about Black Widow's life before joining the Avengers. And to the surprise and delight of audiences, we see in the trailer that Black Widow's past also comes to the forefront in the form of her "sister," Yelena Belova, played by Florence Pugh.
Who Is Yelena Belova?
In the comics, Yelena Belova was appointed as the new Black Widow in Russia when Natasha Romanova turned her loyalties elsewhere. Both Yelena and Natasha underwent the same spy and assassin training in the 'Red Room.' When Yelena is first introduced in the comics, she is fiercely loyal to her handlers and believes herself to be the superior Black Widow. After several issues of being an Avengers foe and rival to Natasha, Yelena eventually turns towards the side of heroism after Natasha's death, albeit tending to walk the line between hero and anti-hero.
How Will Yelena's Character Play Out In 'Black Widow?'
When we first see Yelena in the teaser trailer, it certainly seems to play out that she and Natasha are rivals, if not enemies. Both armed with guns, the two start fighting each other violently, until abruptly stopping and Natasha ruefully says, "It's good to see you, again...sis."
As the trailer played on, it seems that while Natasha and Yelena have an adversarial relationship, there are far more hints that there's more camaraderie between the two as opposed to the comics. While Natasha refers to her as "sis," it's more likely to indicate a close, familiar relationship (rather than a biological one), and a nod to the fact that they probably trained together in the Red Room.
What This Means For the MCU
It's been revealed that 'Black Widow' takes place just after the events of 'Avengers: Civil War,' prior to 'Infinity War.' Therefore, it doesn't look like we'll be getting a resurrected Natasha after she heroically sacrificed her life to secure the Soul Stone during 'Endgame.'
However, it does look more promising that there will eventually be a new Black Widow for the Avengers team in the form of Yelena Belova. Presenting Yelena in 'Black Widow' does seem to set her up to take up the role in the wake of Natasha's death.
Fans Are Excited To See Florence Pugh
Florence Pugh has risen to great popularity after giving a stellar performance in this year's horror smash hit, 'Midsommar.' She will also be playing Amy in the anticipated film, 'Little Women,' which is due out on Christmas Day. Now that audiences have seen just how great Pugh acting chops are, they're excited to see her take on an action-adventure movie. And if all goes well, she might become a fixture in the MCU if she is indeed going to pick up the mantle and become the new Black Widow.
