A new Marvel featurette highlights Yelena Belova's involvement in the Disney Plus series Hawkeye. Florence Pugh's Yelena has had an interesting journey in Phase 4 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe so far. From appearing alongside her sister Natasha Romanoff in Black Widow to fighting Clint Barton in Hawkeye, she has earned a place on the list of fan-favorite MCU characters.
The Hawkeye featurette offers a look at some new footage from the finale and a few behind-the-scenes clips of Pugh, Jeremy Renner, and Hailee Steinfeld filming on the sets. The clip includes interviews with the actors and directors, and they talk about the dynamics between the characters and the idea of an epic crossover.
Pugh reveals in the featurette that when there were talks about bringing Yelena back, she didn’t expect her to go up against Renner's Barton. He happens to be her sister’s best friend and seeing the two characters fight it out was a “really cool twist” for Pugh. Having worked with Scarlett Johansson in Black Widow, Pugh already felt welcomed into the MCU. But, filming with Renner for Hawkeye was a “really sweet” experience for her as well. “It’s been a really good first two years in the MCU,” Pugh stated.
After the Black Widow post-credits scene, fans expected Yelena to return in future MCU projects, and Hawkeye delivers the re-introduction to the character in the most epic way. Towards the end of the fourth Hawkeye episode, Yelena is seen fighting Barton on a rooftop. Without saying a single word, Pugh manages to get Yelena's emotions across beautifully, and the making of the scene is visible in the Hawkeye featurette.
Fans are already aware that Yelena believes Barton is responsible for her sister Romanoff's death. Her appearance in Hawkeye is for the purpose of revenge and she reveals in the fifth episode that she is out to kill Barton. It remains to be seen whether she will succeed or instead join Barton and Steinfeld's Kate Bishop to fight a bigger evil in the form of Vincent D'Onofrio's Kingpin.
The featurette also looks at Yelena and Bishop's on-screen chemistry in Hawkeye, and it seems like the the actors had a lot of fun filming their impromptu dinner scene. “To see Natasha Romanoff’s sister sitting, talking to Clint Barton's protege, we just sat back and really enjoyed it,” reveal the directors Bert and Bertie. The sequence, where Yelena reveals her identity to Bishop, has become one of the most talked about scenes in the series.
Hawkeye is streaming on Disney Plus.
Source: Marvel Entertainment/YouTube