Florence Pugh is reportedly returning as Yelena Belova for two more Marvel Cinematic Universe movies, including a mystery project. Pugh's Yelena Belova has quickly become one of the MCU's new fan-favorite characters in Phase 4. Her debut in Black Widow set up Yelena to replace Scarlett Johansson's Black Widow and set up her return in Hawkeye. The double dose of the super spy made it clear that Florence Pugh would be a big part of the MCU going forward. The result was mass speculation about Yelena Belova's future in the franchise.

Marvel Studios confirmed part of Yelena Belova's MCU future earlier this year when the Thunderbolts movie was officially announced. Florence Pugh was confirmed to be part of the ensemble cast that includes Sebastian Stan's Winter Soldier, David Harbour's Red Guardian, Wyatt Russell's U.S. Agent, Hannah John-Kamen's Ghost, and Olga Kurylenko's Taskmaster. The first Thunderbolts concept art even put Yelena at the forefront of the MCU's incomplete Thunderbolts team, indicating her place as the main character of the movie. Her involvement with the anti-hero team was previously set up through working with Contessa Valentina Allegra de la Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dryfus).

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It now appears that Thunderbolts is only a part of Marvel's plans for Florence Pugh's Yelena Belova. In a new report from THR about superhero movie actors' salaries, the outlet revealed Pugh is set to make eight figures for her next two Marvel movie appearances. This reveals that Florence Pugh is already contracted to appear in two upcoming MCU movies. One of those is known to be Thunderbolts but the other remains unconfirmed at this time.

What MCU Movie Florence Pugh Could Return In After Thunderbolts

New MCU Thunderbolts Team

The confirmation that Florence Pugh is returning in another MCU movie besides Thunderbolts is not too surprising, but it does indicate that Marvel has Yelena Belova's future planned. It is possible that Yelena's mystery Marvel film appearance will happen before Thunderbolts. She could appear in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania to recruit Ghost to the team potentially, while audiences could even see Yelena in Captain America: New World Order potentially.

The most likely answer for what MCU movie Florence Pugh can return in and is already contracted to do so is either Avengers: The Kang Dynasty or Avengers: Secret Wars. With the two event films coming out in 2025 and 2026, Marvel Studios could already be lining up actors to participate and make sure their schedules are clear. After leading Thunderbolts, it would make sense for Florence Pugh to return as Yelena in either of the epic Phase 6 movies. It is expected that just about every MCU character will be involved in the two films and that should include a bright young star like Pugh.

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Source: THR

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