Black Widow star Florence Pugh discussed her character’s relationship with Scarlett Johansson’s Natasha Romanoff. The long-awaited film will be released simultaneously in theatres and on Disney Plus this summer.
Cate Shortland’s Black Widow takes place after the events of Captain America: Civil War and focuses on Romanoff’s family and history as a Russian spy. Pugh, who notably received an Oscar nomination for her work in Little Women, plays Yelena Belova, a sister-figure to Romanoff who trained in the Red Room as a Black Widow. The standalone film’s cast includes David Harbour as Alexei Shostakov/Red Guardian, O. T. Fagbenle as Rick Mason, William Hurt as Thaddeus Ross, and Rachel Weisz as Melina Vostokoff.
In a revealing interview with Collider, Pugh noted that Yelena and Natasha share a bratty but sisterly relationship. “Yelena is deeply annoying and pretty much takes the mick out of everything Natasha does, but fundamentally they have a very unique and strong relationship that drives them through the film,” said Pugh. The actress added that Yelena is exactly what you’d expect a stubborn younger sister to be. Yelena was created by Devin Grayson and J.G. Jones and first appeared in 1999’s Inhumans #5. In the comics, the trained assassin was activated as the new Black Widow after the death of her trainer Pyotr Vasilievich Starkovsky.
When asked what she loved most about her character, Pugh said Yelena’s toughness and willingness to get the job done -- “whether that’s fighting someone or verbally abusing someone.” Pugh added that she fell in love with the stunts and action sequences that she had to do. “It’s amazing how much they want you to enjoy and do and they will create fights that you are capable of doing if you’re up for it and that was so exciting,” she said. On the first day of production, Pugh had to shove Johansson against the kitchen counter. “It was like, ‘Hi, I’m going to beat you now!’ but it was great and we fell in love during that fight because it was just so messy and it was cool.”
Black Widow is one of four Marvel films that will be released in theatres this year. Destin Daniel Cretton’s Shang-Chi and The Legend of the Ten Rings has garnered attention for being the first Marvel film with an Asian protagonist. The origin film will see Shang-Chi (Simu Liu) attempt to take down The Ten Rings, a terrorist organization created by his villainous father Wenwu. Cretton recently revealed that the blockbuster’s action sequences were inspired by 2000s Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, and numerous Jackie Chan films. The director wanted Shang-Chi to be on par with other superheroes in the MCU and not just the master of kung fu. The highly-anticipated film is slated to be released in theatres this September.
This fall, Chloé Zhao’s Eternals and Jon Watts’ Spider-Man: No Way Home will also premiere. Eternals will follow a species of immortal aliens who are forced to reunite to protect mankind from a humanoid race called the Deviants. Oscar-winning actress Angelina Jolie will play Thena, a warrior who can form any weapon out of cosmic energy. Meanwhile, Tom Holland, Zendaya, Jacob Batalon, and Marisa Tomei are all set to return in the third Spider-Man installment. While specific plot details have yet to be released, Alfred Molina and Jamie Foxx are reprising their respective roles from previous Spider-Man iterations.
Black Widow is scheduled to be released in theaters and on Disney Plus on July 9, 2021.
Source: Collider