Discussing her future in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Black Widow’s Florence Pugh says she wants Yelena Belova to team up with Scarlet Witch and Loki. Scarlett Johansson’s swan song as Natasha Romanoff was released in theaters and on Disney+ Premier Access earlier this summer as part of the MCU’s Phase 4. However, instead of taking place after Avengers: Endgame (in which Natasha sacrifices herself), director Cate Shortland’s Black Widow explores its titular character’s time in between the events of Captain America: Civil War and Avengers: Infinity War.

In Black Widow, Natasha travels to Budapest after receiving a message from Yelena (Pugh), her sister figure and fellow widow. The film also reunites the pair with their surrogate parental figures in Melina Vostokoff (Rachel Weisz) and Red Guardian (David Harbour). Together, the four take down the Red Room, wipe some red from their ledgers, and reconcile some dysfunction before bidding farewell to Natasha. Black Widow’s post-credits scene takes place after Endgame, setting Pugh up to reprise her role in the upcoming Hawkeye series on Disney+.

Related: Black Widow's Hawkeye & Yelena Belova's Future Set Up

In a recent interview with Firstpost, Pugh talked about joining something as intimidating as the MCU following breakout roles in films like 2019’s Midsommar and Little Women. When asked if there were any particular characters in Marvel’s universe that she would want Yelena to team up with, Pugh chose perhaps the most pivotal to Phase 4. Read her response below:

"I've always been intrigued by the Scarlet Witch [Elizabeth Olsen]. Just because I really like how equally bizarre she is as well," said Pugh. "I think if Yelena were to bump into anyone from the MCU who is just as opinionated and in love of taking the p*** out of every single one of them, then I think she'd probably find Loki [Tom Hiddleston] very interesting because he kind of does that too.”

Yelena visits Natasha's grave in Black Widow

Pugh’s character was the renowned standout of Black Widow, subverting expectations associated with early incarnations of Johansson’s Black Widow. That being said, Yelena will presumably take over the mantle of Black Widow in the MCU, even if it's with the Dark Avengers or Contessa Valentina Allegra de la Fontaine. Like Olsen’s Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch, Pugh’s Yelena should play a major role in future MCU projects. However, instead of multiversal antics and potential disagreements with Doctor Strange, Yelena will likely become a member of the Young Avengers alongside characters like Hailee Steinfeld’s Kate Bishop—who is also expected to inherit the mantel of Hawkeye in the upcoming series.

Following Loki and WandaVision, Hiddleston and Olsen’s characters will appear in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and be involved in large-scale MCU problems. This is not to say that Hawkeye won’t introduce a significant threat/complex dynamics, but super assassins are simply less threatening than sorcerers, inter-dimensional beings, and trickster gods. Hopefully, Pugh does trade banter with Hiddleston on the big screen someday. Until then, audiences can enjoy Yelena mocking Natasha’s superhero landing when Black Widow is released on Blu-ray and DVD on September 14th.

More: Black Widow Theory: Yelena's Mission Is To Recruit Kate Bishop (By Killing Hawkeye)

Source: Firstpost

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