Florence Pugh’s Black Widow will reportedly lead Marvel Studios’ “Thunderbolt,” which premieres in 2024.
Deadline’s Justin Kroll recently appeared on The Town show to hint that Yelena Bellova is expected to lead the MCU antihero team in the upcoming Raiden movie. “[Florence Pugh] already has Marvel superheroes that have spawned,” Kroll said. “Actually, that part of her upcoming role is this Thunderbolt movie, which is basically Marvel’s Suicide Squad. Hopefully it’s better. But the concept is she’s going to lead Wyatt Russell’s John Walker, Daniel Zemo on teams like Brewer, antiheroes that aren’t exactly good but not totally bad. So that’s it. People seem to like Yelena as a character.”
Pugh first appeared as Yelena Bellova in Black Widow (2021), which takes place before Avengers: Endgame, as Natasha Romanoff played by Scarlett Johansson ‘s foster sister. After Endgame, Belova essentially became the MCU’s next Black Widow, last appearing in the 2021 Disney+ series Hawkeye.
Thunderbolts will premiere in theaters on July 26, 2024, closing out Phase 5 of the MCU. Meanwhile, Pugh will play Princess Ilulan in Dune: Part II, which premieres on November 17, 2023.
