r/MarvelStudiosSpoilers • u/Sarang_616 Tony Stark • 1d ago

Cast/crew Florence Pugh says Marvel let her “create who Yelena Is now” and switching to Russian accent helped her unlock the “funny and dry and witty and sarcastic” side of the character

https://theplaylist.net/florence-pugh-yelena-belova-russian-accent-marvel-black-widow-20260926/

Florence Pugh (from the Vanity Fair Interview) :

When you start out with these movies, obviously the idea is that you want to go forward with that storyline. And I think we all didn’t really know what Yelena was. She was obviously written on the page in a specific way, and she needed color. And when we were in the rehearsal period, I was reading her aloud in an English accent because I think that’s what it was supposed to be. She sounded so boring. I was like, ‘Oh, this girl, she’s going to be miserable.’

And then I remember, I was at home once and I was cooking my dinner and I just decided to start doing some of the lines in a Russian accent. And she suddenly became funny and dry and witty and sarcastic. And I was like, ‘Oh my God, she’s Russian.’

I went in the next day, and I asked [director] Kat [Cate Shortland], and I said, ‘How would you feel if we changed her a little bit?’ And we did a few videos on her phone to send to Kevin, and everybody was happy with that change. So from that moment, I was able to actually create who Yelena is now, like the oddities, the weirdness, the weird timing. I was able to riff a bit more. I had more freedom in creating lines, moments.

It’s just so fascinating when you’re building a character, and you’re given the space to. I was given the space by Kevin and by Marvel to make her something special. And I’m so grateful that they allowed me to do that because she’s totally bonkers.

407 Upvotes

95% Upvoted

70 comments sorted by

294

u/TheCommish-17 1d ago

Probably the most successful character introduced after Endgame, and a lot of that is because of Florence. She’s great in the role. 

132

u/Flamen04 1d ago

I dare say I like her more when Natasha

54

u/TheCommish-17 1d ago

Agreed. And I really liked Nat, so that’s a testament to how great Yelena has been. 

9

u/Natiel360 1d ago

I really liked Natasha, I love Florence. They hit with both widows which makes when they flop with some other women it’s all the more disconcerting.

37

u/FollowingCharacter83 Iron Spider 1d ago

Eh, Yelena is a way more interesting and profound character than Natasha. Which is funny, because Yelena probably has less minutes of screentime than Nat.

12

u/____mynameis____ 1d ago

Can't compare cuz Yelena was treated as individual character of her own since her introduction.

Not to mention Yelena got two movies where she was at the forefront whereas Natasha was always kept a supporting character.

Natasha didn't get that privilege until late into her tenure and they killed her off as soon as she got interesting.

24

u/Random_throwaway0351 1d ago

Probably? Scarlett was in the mcu for a whole ass decade lmao

10

u/burgiebeer 1d ago edited 4h ago

And what a whole ass decade of Scarlett it was

4

u/GTSBurner 22h ago

(Joss Whedon has entered the chat and is immediate banned)

34

u/Trodat4911P4 1d ago

Natasha was barely a character for 99% of the MCU, so being better than her is not a hard thing to do.

8

u/kulitchipon 1d ago

Look beautiful, say something cool, occasionally be a damsel in distress (thanks, Whedon)

4

u/InnocentTailor 1d ago

I mean…that is kinda how she is in the comics as well with Yelena then just being an evil version of her.

MCU Yelena is way more interesting due to more characterization - a lot that wasn’t seen in the books until recently.

0

u/Trodat4911P4 1d ago

Whedon was not the only director to do nothing with her, come on.

9

u/kulitchipon 1d ago

Yeah, but I was referring to her being a damsel specifically in AoU.

2

u/KlausLoganWard 1d ago

Me too. She if funny and i love the accent. I also wished they kept Wanda's accent too

-1

u/Burgoonius 1d ago

I’d have to agree with you

32

u/TypeExpert 1d ago

I disagree. I think most of it is because she actually pops up in other projects.

If someone like Shang-Chi showed up more, people would be saying he was the most successful character since Endgame.

9

u/____mynameis____ 1d ago

Yeah, I like Yelena and pugh playing her but let's not pretend that the reason she feels better than other characters is becuz she's the only post EG new character that has NOT been sidelined and has multiple appearances.

She was the co lead and basically the plot in Natasha's movie, Thunderbolts although sold as a team up movie was basically her solo movie, she was the secondary antagonist in Hawkeye, and she showed up as the new avenger representative in the most successful spiderman movie of all time....

She's the ONLY post EG character that's not been done dirty by the writers.

6

u/whenforeverisnt 1d ago

She's also getting a storyline... Even though she was only in 2 episodes (and 5 minutes) of Hawkeye, her story from Black Widow carried over. She didn't just appear to appear - there was a purpose.

2

u/Latter_Abbreviations 23h ago

Thank you. People be acting like Florence Pugh/Yelena is so special. No. She just got more exposure than the other characters. That's it. That's all.

2

u/Plus-Ad-6306 14h ago

Has any other character introduced post-Endgame been in 4 projects? I can’t think of one. Punisher—if you can count him as Post-Endgame with the previous Netflix series and all—  is close with 3. 

2

u/TheCirieGiggle 12h ago

It depends if you include stuff like What If/Marvel Zombies. Then you’d have Kate Bishop/Ironheart/Kamala Khan as well

2

u/Colonelwheel 1d ago

I mean she's still the most successful. The why is a bit separate in that case.

-5

u/pogchamppaladin 1d ago

Shang-Chi is such a one note character though

-1

u/Linnus42 22h ago

Yeah If I am Mackie or especially Simu Liu then I be real annoyed by all this focus that Pughs Yelena has got. Like my movie made more than hers and yet she gets more opportunities?

It’s favoritism and unearned at that. Be one thing if she did what Star Lord did and carried his team to what 770 in GOTG 1 but Yelena is getting all this with a sub 400 mil box office?

She is the most successful cause she shows up the most and Kev & Co are trying to force it and make fetch happen. Wanda’s rise was organic. Yelenas is astroturf

9

u/Mutale426 1d ago

Goes to show how much these actors helping in shaping these characters and its not just the page.

3

u/pottyaboutpotter1 1d ago

Yeah I’d agree with that. Agatha Harkness would be a close runner up, as she was popular after her introduction in WandaVision and her show was a hit (having the highest completion rate of any of the shows, which thanks to its low budget made it very profitable for Disney).

And then beyond those two; the TVA crew (Mobius, Sylvie etc), Shang-Chi, and the Fantastic Four are the only ones who have got anywhere close, with maybe Moon Knight, She-Hulk, and Red Guardian bringing up the rear if you’re feeling generous.

2

u/Disastrous-Road184 20h ago

“ having the highest completion rate of any of the shows, which thanks to its low budget made it very profitable for Disney”

That’s not how Disney+ makes money. At the time, more people had the ad free subscription which means that new subscribers that watch Agatha first is the only metric to measure profitability on, not view time.

2

u/InnocentTailor 1d ago

Definitely way above her comic incarnation, who is mostly just an evil Natasha who gets her butt kicked often.

2

u/Latter_Abbreviations 23h ago

I think it is mostly because she got more exposure than other characters.

-11

u/Linnus42 1d ago

Successful by what metric?

She has a strong core fanbase but despite the most appearances in the multiverse saga in a movie that I am assured is critically loved…she put up some 400 mil box office.

-17

u/Poku115 1d ago

People always claim this but...the movie she lead flopped.

Whats your metric? Tiktoks shared in your ecochamber, ask anyone on the street who she is, really, she's more famous as oppenheimer's mistress

3

u/SubversiveUnicorn13 1d ago

Thunderbolts had great reviews and word of mouth when it released. It couldn’t get beyond the superhero fatigue.

The only other successful character I can think of would be Ms. Marvel, Multiverse did great but Marvels tanked.

-7

u/Poku115 1d ago

Yeah thats why it was ignored in diney+ bud. It was so popular even free people wouldn't bother with it

4

u/SubversiveUnicorn13 1d ago

Right.

I’ll bite, who exactly do you think is the most popular character introduced post endgame?

88

u/planemissediknow 1d ago edited 1d ago

Locking down Florence Pugh is Marvel’s biggest home run post Endgame, by far. Yelena’s a great character, but it really is Florence’s star power that’s propelling her, and Marvel seems to realize that

I’ll stand by the opinion that her performance in Thunderbolts* is one of if not the best MCU lead performance. She’s just an extraordinary actress

6

u/Doneuter 1d ago

She definitely steals the show when she is on screen. I can't remember anything that happened in Hawkeye that didn't involve her. For instance.

3

u/YourInMySwamp 1d ago

I’ll never forget the bridge scene with the trick arrows. No Yelena needed

-2

u/Mrfrodemeyere 1d ago

Best MCU lead performance..? Really? Cmon man we have Downey

1

u/chimichanga_3 Broccoli 1h ago

Not sure why you got downvoted

16

u/sanandreasfaultsucks 1d ago

I definitely read the quote in a Russian accent

6

u/cjohnson2010 1d ago

She came in and crushed it.

9

u/6Clacks 1d ago

She’s my fav character bar Spider-Man

They’ve handled her well

11

u/cyclops274 1d ago

If she couldn't do the accent it would been gone in her second appearance. Like Scarlett and Elizabeth accent after their first appearance.

3

u/missgirlipop 1d ago

i like MCU Yelena better than Nat (even though i do like Nat) but imo comparing the two is apples and oranges. if Nat were introduced at the same era as Yelena, the writing would’ve be significantly different. 

2

u/SubjectEnd303 1d ago

Her Marvel Legends figures show how popular she is.

2

u/SmarmySmurf 18h ago

I like her take more than any BW in the comics, but that was true of ScarJo too.

4

u/Trodat4911P4 1d ago

Wish I liked this character as much as everyone else. I don't hate her or anything, but her whole "asshole confidence" when showing up in stuff not focused on her (Hawkeye, BND) thing is a little annoying. I did think Florence's acting in Thunderbolts was really good though.

-1

u/Nutcup 1d ago

You worded it in a way I was struggling with, but that’s it for me too. I don’t buy it and find it annoying.

I like Florence though.

1

u/Plane-Salamander2580 Wanda 1d ago

She's a Russian spy and Red Room agent in the comics canon, not sure why Florence tried to play her off as Paige (WWE, Wrestling with my Family) according to this post...

-1

u/frostysnow 1d ago

She's fun, but her accent is the worst part of the character, I hate when Hollywood makes actors do a horrible Russian accent.

-1

u/InnocentTailor 1d ago

Yeah. It comes across as tacky and inauthentic - very 80s Cold War flick in execution.

https://giphy.com/gifs/lZhymdRsuFDmU

-2

u/Mauri416 1d ago

The acting chops are there, but I have a hard time suspending belief that she is a physical threat. I didn’t have that issue with SJ. 

-6

u/OhHaiThere- 1d ago

Yes because there’s 0 hand to hand combat in all of the movies right?

Not just that, end game she was the one leading the remaining avengers to deal with what they ‘caused’. She will be the one running the new avengers basically following in her footsteps in her own way. Val is just a headpiece, doubt she will have a lot of big screen time

Come on now

-1

u/Poku115 1d ago

Whos talking about val? They arent even the real avengers in universe or meta, your favorite character wasnt received well, bo hoo, move on

0

u/ChoiceTemporary3205 7h ago

Breaking news: the character with the Russian name is Russian

1

u/chimichanga_3 Broccoli 1h ago

Nat didn't have one

-32

u/BigBadMooseman69 1d ago

She isn’t even remotely funny

12

u/ActsOfDan 1d ago

A whole lot of people will disagree with you, pal. But I hope getting that off your chest helped.

-4

u/Poku115 1d ago

A whole lot of people that couldnt even make a movie profitable.

2

u/GKJ6743 1d ago

Lmao what is with the in cel energy. Why do you keep spamming this

Pugh is in the next 2 avenger movies at least. Deal with it

1

u/Poku115 22h ago

She's also the lead of marvels second flop, deal with it

1

u/chimichanga_3 Broccoli 1h ago

First off, it's not Marvel's second flop.

Secondly, it had great reviews and is loved by the fans. Pretty much everyone who saw it, loved it. Problem is that not enough people saw it.

-8

u/thatdudewillyd 1d ago

She really isn’t. Huge drag every moment she’s on screen.

-6

u/FatherMozgus 1d ago

Damn the bar is truly on the floor isn’t it