Black Widow's Florence Pugh Thought Fans Would Hate Her Character's Russian Accent

Black Widow was supposed to premiere last week globally, but the current pandemic delayed its release to November 6, 2020. However, there has been no shortage of reveals about the film from many outlets in recent weeks. The prequel has been confirmed to fill in the gaps in-between MCU movies to show what Natasha Romanoff was up to during those times. Aside from that, Johansson said in an interview that Black Widow will heavily revolve around the theme of family as it explores Romanoff's relationship with her family members from the Red Room program which includes Red Guardian, Melena Vostokoff, and Yelena Bolova.

Out of all the family members, Florence Pugh's Yelena Bolova is the most intriguing, since she has close ties to Natasha and the Black Widow lore in the comics. On top of her first stint in the ever-growing MCU, this will also be Pugh's first foray in the action genre . With so much to unpack, Pugh opened up about joining the billion-dollar franchise and her newfound Russian accent in the film.

NEWS

In an interview with Elle via ComicBookMovie , Florence Pugh admitted that it was a "big decision" when she signed to play Yelena Bolova in Black Widow . Here's what Pugh had to share about the matter:

“ When you think of Marvel, it’s big and daunting, especially being a relatively small actor to look at it and go “oh, I’m going to be a part of this,” that’s a big decision .”

Moreover, Pugh also shared her concern about fans not being onboard of her Russian accent in the trailers.

“ I was scared because my Russian accent was going to be out there and I didn’t know what it sounded like. I’m also playing a character who no one’s seen before, but they’ve read about her. I didn’t know whether people were going to hate me .”

WHAT THIS MEANS

Pugh's feelings are valid since it is always an intimidating prospect to join a successful franchise like the Marvel Cinematic Universe. There is no word yet if Pugh will return after Black Widow, but Marvel Studios should be wise enough to keep a rising talent like her. The trailer showed bits of Yelena's signature accent and most fans seem to have no trouble with Pugh's portrayal. The recent concern of Pugh with her accent shows her eagerness and how invested she is in the role. This serves as a good sign for fans looking forward to seeing more of Pugh's Yelena in the future of the MCU.

It remains to be seen if Black Widow will show the villainous side of Yelena since the trailers have instead shown the sisterly bond between her and Romanoff. In the comics, Yelena has the tendency to change sides, and the espionage nature of the film could potentially show her betraying Natasha and the rest of her family in the final mission, but this is pure speculation at this point. Since Natasha already met her demise in Avengers: Endgame , there have been rumors of Yelena replacing Natasha as the new Black Widow but the anti-hero route would be very well suited for the character since it presents a more complex character development. Considering that a Thunderbolts project is rumored to be in the works , Yelena could very well end up as part of the villainous team before making a heroic turn down the road.