“Marvel has not been her cup of tea”: Florence Pugh Was Not Marvel’s First Choice to Play Yelena Belova
Before the pandemic hit, being in a Marvel movie was a dream for numerous actors. The franchise was at its peak, and every movie charted on top of the box office. One of the first movies to be released during COVID-19 was Black Widow with Scarlett Johansson and Florence Pugh in the lead. Currently, the studio is being more experimental and trying to reinvent the phases and retain its audience. A recent tidbit suggests that the cast of the movie Black Widow could have been different from what we saw.
Who Was Marvel’s First Choice To Play Yelena Belova?
Similar to any role in the franchise, we’re well aware that Marvel vets and auditions many actors to find the most perfect fit for the comic-based characters. For the much-awaited Black Widow flick, many actors were considered to take on the mantle of Yelena Belova, who starred alongside Natasha Romanoff before Florence Pugh came onto the scene.
Pugh’s co-stars in Greta Gerwig’s Little Women were among the first choices to play the now iconic character. Emma Watson and Saoirse Ronan were under Marvel’s radar to play the assassin’s role. Known for being Hermoine in Harry Potter, Watson was the biggest star to be considered to fill Belova’s shoes. However, she passed on the role as she wanted to take a break from acting after Little Women.
On the podcast The Town with Matthew Beloni, the host converses with Deadline reporter Justin Kroll about the young rising stars of the industry presently. Talking about actors passing on huge roles, they claim Ronan passed on Black Widow because it “has not been her cup of tea and (she) was not interested.”
Ronan is the most acclaimed actress, nominated four times for an Academy Award, to be in the running for the Marvel role. Reportedly, she was also considered to play another hero in the MCU that later went to Elizabeth Olsen in Avengers: Age of Ultron. Unlike Watson, Ronan has not been a part of any huge franchises yet, and she seems to be taking her time in picking the roles she does.
Also Read: Florence Pugh’s Diet and Workout Routine: 5 Things You Need to Know About Her Superhero Physique
Florence Pugh’s Casting in Black Widow
Pugh is up there on the list of rising stars, considering she’s given smashing hits in the past, including Midsommar and Little Women. She will next be seen in the lead role in Marvel’s Thunderbolts. In 2021, Cate Shortland, the director of Black Widow, revealed that she was super excited to work with Pugh based on her past work. It seems like the actress’s role as a professional wrestler in Fighting with my Family in 2019 left an indelible mark on the makers.
Her ability to handle action scenes and her physical strength set her apart from the other actors who were never seen in such a deadly role. Being an assassin by training is no mean feat, and Marvel wanted to ensure the actor had the stomach to handle tough fight sequences. Moreover, Pugh is an exceptional actor in terms of both emotional range and comic timing. Such a perfect mixture of skills ultimately won over the hearts of everyone at Marvel, leading Pugh to be Yelena Belova.
