Florence Pugh, star of Black Widow, has gone into detail about the relationship between her character Yelena and Natasha in the upcoming Marvel movie. The Midsommar and Fighting with My Family star joins the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Yelena Belova, a sister-like figure to Scarlett Johansson’s Natasha Romanoff, The film comes to theatres on July 9 in the U.S., but viewers will also have the option to watch Black Widow on Disney+ through the streaming platform’s Premier Access on the same day.

Black Widow joined the MCU eleven years ago in 2010’s Iron Man 2. Since then, she has played a key role as part of the Avengers and has appeared in a total of seven films across the franchise, not including this upcoming one. Despite audiences long expressing a desire to see Natasha in her own film, Black Widow represents the first time the character will take center stage as she kicks off the movie side of the MCU’s hotly anticipated Phase 4. The Cate Shortland directed film sees Natasha as she confronts her past and a dangerous conspiracy tied to it in the wake of Captain America: Civil War. She'll also reconnect with her found family in Russia, including David Harbour’s Alexei Shostakov/Red Guardian, Rachel Weisz’s Melina Vostokoff, and Pugh’s Yelena. 

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In an interview released by Marvel as a preview to Titan Comics’ Black Widow companion guide, Marvel's Black Widow: The Official Movie Special Book, Pugh discussed Yelena as a character and what drives her. She described Yelena as Black Widow's "annoying little sister" but also someone who is “hurt and complicated.” Pugh also went into detail about the relationship between her character and Natasha and what it was like to work alongside Johansson. Pugh explained:

When she meets Scarlett’s character, Natasha, Yelena is kind of rediscovering who she is after being in the Red Room for so long. So together they realize that they’re both suffering in very similar ways. There is a lovely and unique friendship between the two of them because they are ultimately long-lost sisters. They repair one another and each other’s holes in their lives. At the heart of it is this very brutal journey figuring out who they are, and that’s something that I wouldn’t think would go together with so many amazing explosions and guns and this and that. There actually is this very sad story at the bottom of it.

Nat and Yelena on a motorcycle in Black Widow

This relationship between Yelena and Natasha seems to be greatly important to the film as Pugh also discussed how closely she worked with Johansson to develop their connection. She described working to establish how the two characters would react to one another and whether they would share any similarities, despite being separated for so long. The time and care put into developing the strong sisterly bond between the two characters suggests that it will also be key to helping Natasha heal after the events of Captain America: Civil War. 

With Black Widow having died during Avengers: Endgame, knowing that she was potentially sacrificing herself to save Yelena alongside the rest of the world would make her death – an already heartbreaking scene – all the more tragic. Moreover, as Black Widow is set to be Johansson’s final outing in the role, Shortland has noted there is room for a sequel film with a different character taking the lead. It’s entirely possible that Pugh’s Yelena could take up the mantle, in which case establishing such a close and strong bond between Natasha and Yelena would go a long way to endearing the newcomer to the audience. However, moviegoers will have to wait and see what happens when Black Widow is released on July 9. 

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Source: Marvel

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