Yelena Belova is one of MCU Phase 4’s popular characters played by actress Florence Pugh. The character first appeared in ‘Black Widow’ as Natasha Romanoff’s adoptive sister/ a member from the ‘Red Room’ program. Yelena Belova In portraying the much loved character, Florence Pugh was exceptional and was met with several praises for her performance. Yet, it appears that Saoirse Ronan was initially considered for the role.
On the podcast series titled ‘The Town with Matthew Belloni’, Justin Kroll (Deadline’s senior reporter) made an appearance and allegedly revealed how Saoirse Ronan turned down the Marvel character portrayal. Justin Kroll supposedly went on to state the reason why Saoirse Ronan had to turn the role down. Saoirse Ronan, much like Florence Pugh is an established actress with several accolades to her name. The two actresses appeared together in the 2019 ‘Little Woman’ which was directed by Greta Gerwig. In the film which is a book adaptation, Saoirse Ronan played the role of Jo March while Florence Pugh played the role of Amy March, both siblings and two among the primary protagonists of the story.
Despite Saoirse Ronan supposedly turning down the role of Yelena Belova, the actress has showcased her support for the MCU in the past thereby retaining the possibility of her appearance as one of its characters in the upcoming projects. Meanwhile, following the release of ‘Black Widow’, Florence Pugh resumed her role as Yelena Belova in ‘Hawkeye’ which premiered in 2021 and is based on the titular character. Recent reports suggest that the actress will be among the cast members for ‘Thunderbolts’, an upcoming MCU project, reprising her role as Yelena Belova. ‘Thunderbolts’ is supposedly set to premiere in 2025 so it will be sometime before the fan favorite actress makes a comeback on screen as the Marvel character.
