2 Attachment(s)
Florence Pugh's Yelena Reportedly Set To Lead MCU's Thunderbolts Movie
Florence Pugh's character Yelena Belova is reportedly the leader of Marvel Studio's upcoming Thunderbolts. First appearing in Black Widow, Yelena was introduced as the de facto successor to Natasha Romanoff's Black Widow in the MCU and broke out with audiences and critics. The character later returned in Disney+'s Hawkeye, which aired five months after Black Widow was released and saw her face off against Jeremy Renner's titular Avenger.
Hawkeye showed Yelena working with Contessa Valentina Allegra de la Fontaine, played by Julia Louis-Drefyus, after meeting the mysterious character in Black Widow's post-credits scene. First appearing in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier to recruit John Walker and transform him into US Agent, fans began speculating that Valentina was building a dark mirror for the Avengers. This speculation was confirmed when at San Diego Comic-Con 2022 Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige officially announced Thunderbolts as a movie set for release on July 26, 2024, and that the movie will wrap up Phase 5 of the MCU.
While no team members for the film were announced at the panel, it appears there might be an idea of who will lead the team and some potential recruits. In an appearance on The Town podcast, Deadline writer Justin Kroll stated that Yelena Belova is expected to be the leader of the Thunderbolts in the MCU, which he describes as a team of anti-heroes that are neither good nor bad. He also states the team will consist of Wyatt Russell's John Walker aka US Agent and Daniel Bruhl's Zemo. It is unclear if this is speculation on Kroll's part, as Marvel Studios has not made any announcements regarding the film. Read Kroll's full quote below:
Quote:
[Florence Pugh] has got the Marvel superhero that's already got a spin-off. Upcoming for her, actually, on that character is this Thunderbolts film, which is basically Marvel's Suicide Squad. Hopefully, it has better results. But the concept is it'd be her leading the team of like Wyatt Russell's [John Walker], Daniel Bruhl's [Zemo], those anti-heroes that aren't exactly good but aren't exactly bad. So there's that. And people seem to like the Yelena character.
Making Yelena the leader of the team makes a certain amount of sense, as she is the character so far that is the closest morally to a traditional hero. Marvel Studios also is likely to want to capitalize on Pugh's star power, as in the years since she was cast as Yelena back in 2019, she received an Academy Award nomination for Little Women, and will star in such highly anticipated films as Don't Worry Darling, Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, Oppenheimer, and Dune: Part II. Yelena being the leader in Thunderbolts also allows Marvel to pick up on plotlines left dangling from Black Widow, including the status of characters like Red Guardian, Melina Vostokova, and Taskmaster.
US Agent and Zemo both seem like strong candidates for the Thunderbolts, as both have been members of the team in the comics and have walked the line between hero and villain. As for other potential members, there are plenty of villains in the MCU like Abomination, Ghost, and Agatha Harkness who could potentially join the team and get their own redemption arcs. With the D23 Expo coming up, there is a strong chance Marvel Studios will make some conformations regarding the roster for Thunderbolts, with a few possible surprises.
