MCU Theory: Will The Black Widow Prequel Introduce A New Version Of The Character?

1. Could Florence Pugh Portray Yelena?

A24

Which brings us - finally - to Florence Pugh. The actress has garnered plaudits from right across the board for her appearances in Lady Macbeth, Outlaw King, and Fighting with My Family, the last raising her profile even more. The fact she's set to appear in Black Widow only reaffirms the steep, upwards trajectory her career is on.

While it would be easy for Marvel to have Pugh appear in Cate Shortland's film as a supporting character and call it a day, Black Widow's story shouldn't just conclude in the past. It needs to have closure in the present, and if Pugh's character actually is Belova, carrying the story through to the modern day would account for the relative lack of attention Nat received in Endgame.

Black Widow Yelena Belova
Marvel Comics

That's if, of course, Marvel opt to make Belova a hero. There's every chance they could instead choose to make her an antagonist, but with the wiggle room to make her a reluctant ally to the Avengers on occasion.

There are other things to take into account, including the setting of the film and the time-jump following Endgame, but the MCU has dealt with that sort of thing before. The point is Belova would be a great addition to the MCU, and if Pugh were to take on the role, the Black Widow could take on a whole other kind of salience altogether.

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MCU Quiz: How Well Do You Know Black Widow?

Black Widow Iron Man 2
Marvel Studios

1. What Alias Did Black Widow Use As Tony Stark's Assistant In Iron Man 2?

Content Producer/Presenter

WhatCulture's very own resident movie guy, Ewan has been working in the content creation biz for over 10 years now, having started as a freelance contributor to WhatCulture Gaming all the way back in 2015. After graduating with a First-Class Honours in History from Northumbria University in 2017 (where he won a prize for a totally killer dissertation on the Watergate years), Ewan took on the role of Comics Editor at WhatCulture and quickly developed WhatCulture Comics into one of the biggest superhero-focused channels on YouTube. He followed this with a brief hiatus at Screen Rant in 2021, where he worked across the Gaming and Film sections as a writer and editor, before returning to WhatCulture as a Senior Content Producer / Presenter in 2023. He started his own podcast, We Love Dad Movies, in 2022, and has contributed several written pieces to the Eisner-nominated comics website Shelfdust as well. In his current role, Ewan incorporates his love of cinema, comic books, and history into written pieces and video essays for WhatCulture's Film & TV channel, as well as WhatCulture Gaming and WhatCulture Horror, with a particular focus on nineties-era Dad Movies, old school Westerns, and Golden Age Hollywood Noir. John Carpenter is his fave, and he thinks Batman Beyond should never have been cancelled. If that's your vibe, you'll probably like his stuff.