Since her introduction to the MCU in the 2021 film Black Widow, Pugh has won audiences’ hearts and become a fan favorite. While her character, Yelena Belova, appeared in Hawkeye, a recent report by The Hollywood Reporter claims the actress is billed for two more appearances in the MCU. Pugh’s debut in Black Widow set up her character, Belova, to replace Scarlett Johansson’s Natasha Romanoff as Black Widow after her death in Avengers: Endgame. It also prepared her return to Disney Plus’s Hawkeye series where she attempted to kill Clint Barton, who she believed was responsible for Romanoff’s death. Pugh has, however, not made an appearance in the MCU since then. Earlier in the year, Disney confirmed Pugh to be a part of the Thunderbolts film at the D23 Expo. It also confirmed that her character, alongside Sebastian Stan’s Winter Soldier/Bucky Barnes, will lead the Thunderbolts team that consists of Wyatt Russell‘s John Walker/US Agent, David Harbour’s Red Guardian, Hannah John-Kamen’s Ghost, Olga Kurylenko’s Taskmaster, and Julia Louis-Dreyfus’s Valentina Allegra de Fontaine. However, nothing about Belova in her two MCU appearances suggests she has leadership traits. Nevertheless, being involved with other characters could spur the development of these traits, making her fit to lead the team. The Thunderbolts are a team of reformed supervillains who work for the government. The group was created by Mark Bagley and Kurt Basiek and was initially introduced in The Incredible Hulk #449 in 1997. The team attempts to replace Fantastic Four and the Avengers after they were considered dead. The Thunderbolts will be directed by Jake Schreier, known for movies like Paper Towns and Robot & Frank. Eric Pearson, who penned the script for The Consultant, Black Widow, Godzilla vs. Kong, and Thor Ragnarok, among others will write the screenplay. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Pugh will earn up to eight figures for her next two MCU movies, including the Thunderbolts. This suggests that the actress is slated to appear in a second unannounced MCU. Hence, it could be any of Avengers: The Kang Dynasty or Avengers: Secret Wars, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, Captain America: New World Order, or one of Marvel’s yet-to-be-titled movies. By the way, Pugh has been busy outside the MCU. She starred in the recently released Don’t Worry Darling and will feature in Dune: Part Two, Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer, and A Good Person, all of which are scheduled for release in 2023. Also, Pugh will star in Netflix’s limited series adaptation of John Steinbeck’s 1952 novel East of Eden. Thunderbolts is set to begin filming in early 2023 and will release in theaters on July 26, 2024.
