Florence Pugh Confirmed to Return as Yelena Belova in AVENGERS: SECRET WARS
Florence Pugh is officially sticking around for the MCU’s massive Multiverse Saga finale. The actress has now been confirmed to return as Yelena Belova in Avengers: Secret Wars, and it sounds like Marvel has much bigger plans for the character before we get there.
Vanity Fair confirmed that Pugh will reprise her role as Yelena in Secret Wars, which is set to arrive next December.
Her return isn’t exactly surprising considering Yelena’s growing importance in the MCU, but this is the first official confirmation that Pugh will be part of Marvel’s next enormous Avengers finale.
There’s another interesting piece of information involving Avengers: Doomsday as well. Vanity Fair spoke with Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige, who "hints [that Avengers: Doomsday] will be anchored by her character."
That makes Yelena’s place in the next two Avengers movies much more interesting. With Doomsday bringing together heroes from multiple universes, Marvel apparently sees Yelena as an anchor being, which is vital person whose existence holds their entire universe or timeline together.
Pugh has become one of the MCU’s key players since Yelena was introduced in Black Widow, and the character has continued to carve out her own place in Marvel’s expanding roster of heroes. It’ll be interesting to see how her story arc plays out.
We’re also hearing that production on Avengers: Secret Wars is about to get underway. According to insider Daniel Richtman, cameras will start rolling in two weeks.
Anthony Russo and Joe Russo are directing both Doomsday and Secret Wars, with Stephen McFeely writing the screenplay. Michael Waldron, Chris McKenna, and Erik Sommers have also been enlisted to help refine the larger story.
There are going to be a ton of Marvel characters competing for screen time when Secret Wars arrives, but Pugh’s confirmed return, combined with Feige’s comments about Yelena’s importance to Doomsday, suggests she is going to have a major role in both films.
Yelena Belova will have an important part to play as Marvel brings the Multiverse Saga to its massive conclusion.
