Black Widow set photos reveal Florence Pugh’s mysterious role

Photos of a crate spotted on set labeled “Yelena” seem to indicate that Florence Pugh will be playing Yelena Belova, the successor to Black Widow.

With its 2020 release date inching closer and closer, the newest batch of photos from the set of Black Widow seem to shed some light on a previously unknown character — the pictures seem to indicate that Florence Pugh will play Yelena Belova, Natasha Romanoff’s successor.

A crate on set with the label “Yelena” has aroused suspicions that Yelena Belova will be introduced into the Marvel Cinematic Universe as the heir to the Black Widow mantle.

Also trained in the Russian Red Room, Yelena was a young and bloodthirsty assassin who initially volunteered for a mission to kill Natasha. However, Romanoff saw something in her and taught her about the terrors of the espionage world, and how to become her own woman instead of a red room drone.

This backstory could fit well into the plot of Black Widow, given that Scarlett Johansson’s Natasha Romanoff met a tragic end in Avengers: Endgame — sacrificing her life in exchange for the soul stone.

With Natasha gone, that would leave the mantle of Black Widow empty, perfect for a protege like Yelena to fill, similarly to how the Sam Wilson took over the title of Captain America from Steve Rogers.

In terms of the Black Widow movie, Florence Pugh had been spotted on set previously several times and fits the physical profile for the role, but with the addition of the name “Yelena”, her role now seems to have been confirmed.

Whether or not Yelena will take over as Black Widow is still unknown, but given that the MCU shows no signs of slowing down, it’s likely that we could be seeing much more of Florence Pugh in the near future.

Do you think Yelena Belova will be replacing Natasha Romanoff as Black Widow in the MCU? Or do you think her character will be changed for the solo movie? Sound off with your predictions in the comments below.