When the Marvel Cinematic Universe decided to explore more about Natasha Romanoff’s story, there was a huge buzz around the character. Scarlett Johansson’s fan-favorite MCU characters have been around the Marvel Universe since her debut in the studio in the 2010 film Iron Man 2.

Scarlett Johansson as Natasha Romanoff and Florence Pugh as Yelena Belova in Black Widow. Source: Marvel Studios

Black Widow was a well-deserved standalone movie of the beloved character exploring her origin story, family, and friends. The movie also introduces a few other prominent characters including Romanoff’s sister Yelena Belova. However, Emma Watson had her eyes on the character before Florence Pugh’s eventual entry into the film.

Emma Watson Was Set To Play Yelena Belova Before Florence Pugh

Florence Pugh as Yelena Belova in Black Widow. Source: Marvel Studios

Harry Potter and Beauty and the Beast actor Emma Watson was set to play Natasha Romanoff’s adopted sister Yelena Belova in Black Widow. Even though Scarlett Johansson’s Romanoff was the highlight of the film, Belova also stole the show with the Bond-like action and approach on screen. Certainly, the character matched the prowess of  Romanoff as they both were trained in the Red Room since childhood.

As per reports, Watson was the first choice of Black Widow director Cate Shortland while Marvel executives Kevin Feige and Brad Winderbaum also were in favor of casting The Perks of Being a Wallflower actor back in 2019 before the production. Further, several other actors including Saoirse Ronan, Alice Englert, and Dar Zuzovsky were also in talks for the role that eventually went to Midsommar actor Florence Pugh.

Later, in an interview with The Holywood Reporter, Shortland revealed why she was excited to work with Pugh. Meeting with Marvel executives for the first time, the director mentioned Pugh’s rich performances in her films which include Lady Macbeth, which she was most fond of but the producers liked her strength as  Saraya-Jade Bevis, former WWE wrestler known as Paige, in her biopic Fighting with My Family. Also, the director believed that Pugh could match Johansson’s energy on screen.

Florence Pugh on Playing Yelena Belova

Florence Pugh as Yelena Belova. Source: Marvel Studios

Pugh cherished her role in Black Widow which also marked her MCU debut. In an interview with Collider, Pugh talked about the character revealing her experience and love for the character. “What I love about Yelena — and the Yelena that we’ve created, even in terms of the costume — is there’s no messing,” Pugh told Collider. “There’s no bells and whistles with her,” she added.

“She kind of gets the job done and, whether that’s fighting someone or verbally abusing someone, it’s all pretty straightforward and pretty Bolshie and I’ve loved playing her. She’s ready to fight whether it’s argument or physical. There’s no stopping her.”

“I mean, I’ve never been on a film of this scale,” Pugh reflected on her experience on her MCU debut. Further, the actor revealed that the role demanded her physical prowess as Belova dominated half the action in the movie. “It’s incredibly daunting coming up to this and thinking what prep should you be doing in your own time and what’s the prep that Marvel are expecting you to do?” she added. Also, there is a question of how physical the roles can be.

“And that’s something that I definitely had no idea what they were going to expect from me and actually Scarlett was super helpful with all of that and sitting there and listening to what she said about the last 9 years of her, I suppose, career in this Marvel Universe,” the Midsommar actor said.

Certainly, the role was daunting as Belova had to match the energy of her co-Red Room trainee and sister  Natasha Romanoff. For Johansson, it was not that hard as she was playing the character for over a decade now but for Pugh, it was new territory, but she has done a wonderful job gaining appreciation from fans and critics alike.