Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh) is more likely to join the Thunderbolts in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and not the Young Avengers. The former Black Widow's most recent appearance was in Hawkeye; Yelena was sent by Contessa Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfuss) to kill Clint Barton (Jeremy Renner), who she blamed for the death of Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson). But after working alongside (and fighting against) Kate Bishop (Hailee Steinfeld), Yelena realized Barton wasn't the cause of her older sister's death. Yelena's MCU future is up in the air but the Young Avengers' eventual roster won't include Belova, despite her friendship with Kate.
Yelena debuted in Black Widow, which revealed she was the youngest of a makeshift Russian family sent by the KGB to perform an undercover operation in Ohio. After Yelena's 'parents,' Alexei Shostakov AKA the Red Guardian (David Harbour) and Melina Vostokov (Rachel Weisz) completed their mission, the young Natasha and Yelena were forcibly indoctrinated into the Red Room's Black Widow program by General Dreykov (Ray Winstone). Natasha and Yelena were separated, with the former becoming one of Dreykov's top Black Widow operatives before Romanoff defected to S.H.I.E.L.D. and joined the Avengers. In turn, Yelena was subjected to Dreykov's mind control and remained a Black Widow until she was freed in 2016. In Black Widow, Natasha and Yelena reconnected and, with Alexei and Melina's help, brought down Dreykov and the Red Room. But Yelena was among the billions who died as a result of Thanos' (Josh Brolin) Infinity Gauntlet snap; when she resurrected five years later, Natasha was already dead. Yelena ended up working for Valentina but her status after Hawkeye is up in the air.
MCU Phase 4 has introduced legacy characters to succeed the original Avengers, and Yelena fits the bill as a Black Widow who can replace Natasha Romanoff. The MCU's legacy characters are, naturally, perceived as the next phase of the Avengers, i.e. the Young Avengers. Along with the new Hawkeye, Kate Bishop, and Ant-Man's (Paul Rudd) daughter Cassie Lang AKA Stature (Kathryn Newton), America Chavez (Xochitl Gomez) was introduced in Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness, while Wanda Maximoff's (Elizabeth Olsen) twin sons, Billy (Julian Hilliard) and Tommy (Jett Klyne) will be known as Wiccan and Speed. Ms. Marvel Kamala Khan (Iman Vellani) is also a strong possibility to join the Young Avengers. But Yelena is not Young Avenger material in the MCU simply because she is not that "young." Yelena is actually in her 30s and is a grown woman, unlike the MCU Young Avengers' potential roster.
How Old Yelena Belova Actually Is In The MCU
In the MCU, Yelena was born in 1989, which made her only 6 years old in Black Widow's 1995-set prologue. This means that Yelena was 27 during the events of Black Widow in 2016, and she was about 29 when Yelena died from Thanos' Snap. In Hawkeye, which is set in Christmas 2024, Yelena is at least 30 years old. But technically, the former Black Widow should be about 35 since she lost 5 years of life thanks to Thanos. Yelena may behave in a flippant manner that makes her seem younger than she is, but Belova is actually too old to join the Young Avengers. In contrast, Natasha Romanoff was 28 when she joined the Avengers and she was 32 during the events of Black Widow, which makes Nat 39 when she died on Vormir in 2023 during Avengers: Endgame.
However, the Thunderbolts, who already have their own movie in development, are a much better fit for Yelena Belova. Beyond the fact that the Young Avengers would be comprised of what would be kids relative to her, the Thunderbolts are a team of experienced operatives gradually being assembled by Valentina de Fontaine. It makes more sense for Yelena, an ex-assassin, to team up with former supervillains like Taskmaster (Olga Kurylenko), Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen), Abomination (Tim Roth), and US Agent (Wyatt Russell). Yelena Belova may be carrying Natasha Romanoff's Black Widow legacy, but she is no Young Avenger as opposed to being a prime candidate to join the Thunderbolts.
