Florence Pugh's Yelena Belova almost looked quite different in Thunderbolts*. Specifically, her hair looked rather reminiscent of Gwen Stacy's in Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse in early concept art, but Marvel Studios ended up changing its mind and going with something different. Thunderbolts* was praised by both critics and fans when it was released in theaters in May 2025, despite not being financially successful for Marvel Studios and Disney. Now, the movie was added to Disney+, and new details about the developmental stages of the film were revealed.
Never-before-seen pieces of concept art from Thunderbolts* were recently released, and a few of them confirmed that the movie's lead, Florence Pugh, almost had a completely different hairstyle. In particular, some concept art that Marvel created featured Pugh's Yelena Belova with pink highlights, making her look similar to Hailee Steinfeld's Gwen Stacy (aka Spider-Gwen) from Across the Spider-Verse.
One piece of concept art (from the official Thunderbolts* art book) featured Yelena with not only some pink highlights but also longer hair. The pink wasn't prominent but appeared on the right side of the character's face and then on the ends of both sides.
When looked at closer, the pink can be seen a little clearer. Fans will also notice that her hair comes down to just below her collarbone, which is significantly different from the length of her hair in the final cut.
It is also worth noting that, in that specific piece of concept art, Yelena is wearing her vest from Black Widow. According to the art book, Visual Development Concept Illustrator Jana Schirmer originally intended for Yelena to sport the vest throughout the film, but it would have been dyed a different color.
The book also touched on the idea of Yelena's hair having pink highlights, revealing that it would have represented "the character's independent streak:"
"Visual Development Concept Illustrator Jana Schirmer played with the idea that Yelena had her vest back, but that she had perhaps dyed it to match her suit, and thought that the character’s independent streak might have been expressed through a little pint hair dye."
Since Yelena's hair is blonde, giving her pink highlights would have made her look like Gwen Stacy in Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. In the concept art, Gwen's hair was identical to Yelena's, with just some pink highlights throughout.
It is also worth noting that Gwen's hair was nearly the same length (on one side) as Yelena's in the concept art. As mentioned, the art book highlighted how Yelena's pink streaks would have been more prominent on her right side, which is similar to Gwen's hair as well. From certain angles, Gwen's hair clearly has more pink on the left side.
However, Marvel Studios didn't use that concept art, as Yelena's hair was quite different in the final cut of the film.
Ironically, she ended up sporting a bob that ended just above her shoulders and did not display any colorful highlights.
While Marvel Studios shared the pink-highlighted Yelena design, it was not the only piece of concept art from the book that focused on the former Widow.
Specifically, another piece of official art gave fans a look at Yelena with a hood on and longer hair with no highlights.
All kinds of lengths and styles were tested out for the character, as yet another piece of art showcased her with shorter hair that was pulled back.
The team continued to experiment with Yelena's hair design and costuming. One image included the character wearing a unique outfit with a gold belt buckle. In that one, she had a slightly different hairstyle again.
Another piece of art didn't change her hair much but showcased her again in a different costume. Notably, this one included a Black Widow symbol on the belt.
Florence Pugh's Yelena Belova will return in Avengers: Doomsday. Thunderbolts* is streaming on Disney+ and also stars David Harbour (Red Guardian), Wyatt Russell (John Walker), Hannah John-Kamen (Ava Starr), Sebastian Stan (Bucky Barnes), and Lewis Pullman (Bob).
Why Did Marvel Not Give Yelena Pink Hair in Thunderbolts?
If Yelena Belova had pink hair in Thunderbolts*, it would have garnered a lot of attention. Considering the rest of the team, minus Red Guardian, did not have that much color, it could have focused more attention on Yelena than there already was.
Yelena was essentially the movie's lead, but the film established that all the main characters were broken people and were at their strongest when they were one and supporting each other.
Marvel Studios will likely never give a specific reason for not going with the pink hair for Yelena, but it could have taken away from Thunderbolts* themes and final message. MCU fans don't need to see a splash of color in Yelena's hair to know that she has an independent streak, and giving her that visual symbolism could have made it less effective when Yelena expressed her emotions through words.
However, having some pink highlights could have also taken her character arc and the movie's symbolism to the next level. If Yelena had started out with pink highlights in the movie and then appeared at the end (possibly during the post-credits scene because of the time jump in Thunderbolts*) with just blonde hair, that could have symbolized that she found her place with the Thunderbolts; she didn't need to have an independent streak anymore because she was finally with people she trusted and felt comfortable with.
