Even with everything that Marvel Studios has accomplished since its inception, I don’t think the company gets enough credit for its casting. Dating back to the very first MCU movie, 2008’s Iron Man, Marvel gave itself a leg up on the competition by nailing the casting choice for Tony Stark. Countless brilliant hirings followed.
I also love when Marvel takes a swing on casting an actor for a role, and end up lucking into a master thespian. Benedict Cumberbatch had a number of notable credits on his resume before landing the part of Doctor Strange, and he has since gone on to prove he’s more of an asset than Marvel could have imagined. The same goes for the likes of Elizabeth Olsen, Oscar Isaac, Danai Gurira, and the great Florence Pugh.
Pugh was added to the MCU in the standalone solo feature Black Widow, cast as Scarlett Johansson’s sister – and fellow assassin – Yelena Belova. Marvel quickly recruited Pugh to comedically bounce off of Jeremy Renner and Hailee Steinfeld in the underrated Disney+ series Hawkeye. And finally, Yelena took control of her own team in the closing minutes of Thunderbolts, which was my personal pick of the best superhero movie released in 2025.
I’d also say Pugh gave an Oscar-worthy performance in Jake Schreier’s reflective comic book adaptation… if the Academy bothered to pay a lick of attention to the superhero genre.
Florence Pugh Shows More Range in Thunderbolts Than Most Of The Best Actress Candidates
With all due respect to the names that you hear in contention for the Academy Awards this year, what did they show in their feature films that Florence Pugh didn’t display as emotionally wounded spy Yelena Belova?
From the opening shot, Pugh and Schreier clue the audience in on the struggle Yelena is facing following her sister’s death.
There’s something wrong with me.
There’s something wrong with all of the “heroes” assembled by Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) for the sole purpose of destroying any evidence linking her to the Sentry program. And to ultimately triumph, Yelena, Bucky (Sebastian Stan), John Walker (Wyatt Russell) and especially Bob (Lewis Pullman) have to soul search and begin healing the pain they harbor inside.
That’s not a David Harbour pun.
Pugh is a brilliant, Oscar-nominated actor, capable of shifting between comedy and drama with ease. Her scruffy, deliberately imperfect and punk aesthetic fits Yelena to a tee, but beneath her ruthless training is a vulnerability we yearn to protect. Pugh creates immediate chemistry with every actor in the cast, connecting most deeply with Harbour on a comedic level and Pullman on a spiritual level. It’s a huge part of the reason why Thunderbolts’ succeeds in its bold decision to pin its third act “battle” to a series of emotional traumas rather than hollow, meaningless CGI blasts.
She’s also hilarious. Pugh has always been funny, but her dry line deliveries punch through the malaise that threatens to envelope Thunderbolts and drag it down. And it’s delightful to see her co-stars Sebastian Stan, Hannah John-Kamen, Wyatt Russell and especially David Harbour take the baton from her and run. Thunderbolts is often times deeply personal, and then deeply entertaining, and it’s Pugh who ensures the blockbuster maintains that balance.
What’s Next For Florence Pugh in the MCU?
I’m not foolish enough to believe that Pugh will be recognized by the Academy, or any of the organizations handing out year-end accolades. But I’m thrilled at how engaged she is in Thunderbolts, because I know how important Yelena Belova will be to the MCU’s future.
By the end of Thunderbolts, the “team” assembled by Valentina has become The New Avengers. And in the post-credits scene for the movie, we learn that this squad – led by Yelena and Bucky Barnes – is competing for attention with another Avengers team assembled by Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie). They are going to have to figure things out quickly, because The Fantastic Four is on their way over to Earth-616. And behind them is Doom (Robert Downey Jr.).
What we have determined in the lead up to Avengers: Doomsday, however, is that the MCU is leaning on its nostalgic pillars one more time. Captain America (Chris Evans) and Thor (Chris Hemsworth) received the first two Doomsday trailers. The entirety of the MCU will be at center stage in Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars.
Beyond that, however, the MCU will have to turn its existing Phase Four and Five into bankable characters that audiences want to follow. I think that Florence Pugh can be that type of franchise leader, and her performance in Thunderbolts only solidifies my belief that Yelena is a core part of the foundation on which Kevin Feige and his team can build.
- Release Date
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May 2, 2025
- Runtime
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127 minutes
- Director
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Jake Schreier
- Writers
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Eric Pearson, Joanna Calo
- Producers
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Kevin Feige
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Florence Pugh
Yelena Belova
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Sebastian Stan
Bucky Barnes