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As is the case with most Marvel casts, the Black Widow actors grew very close while filming the Marvel Cinematic Universe film. In fact, Florence Pugh, who played Yelena Belova in Black Widow, felt comfortable sticking her finger in David Habour’s nose, who played Alexei Shostakov.

'Black Widow' stars David Harbour and Florence Pugh stand onstage together. Harbour wears a black suit over a Captain America shirt and a 'Black Widow' hat. Pugh wears a beige long-sleeved shirt with different images on it, blue pants, and a 'Black Widow' hat.
David Harbour and Florence Pugh | Photo by Albert L. Ortega/Getty Images

Florence Pugh made her Marvel debut in ‘Black Widow’

Florence Pugh is one of Hollywood’s brightest young stars, and that was even before she starred in Black Widow. And, now, fans can’t get enough of her as Yelena Belova in the MCU.

Marvel introduced Yelena in Black Widow as Natasha Romanoff’s younger adoptive sister. The two were very close until they were separated and went through training in the infamous Red Room to become Black Widows. Flash-forward to the future where Natasha was on the run after violating the Sokovia Accords, Yelena was still being mind-controlled as a Black Widow. However, she came into contact with a gas that freed her of mind control.

Yelena and Natasha then found their way back to one another, and they reunited with their adoptive parents, Alexei and Melina. The four previously posed as a family in Ohio for years while working as Russian undercover agents. Together, they worked to defeat Dreykov, the man responsible for the Black Widow program.

At the end of the film, Yelena leaves to find other Black Widows to free them of mind control. And in a post-credits scene, Yelena visited Natasha’s grave. Valentina Allegra de Fontaine joined her and informed her that Clint Barton was to blame for her sister’s death. And that set up Florence Pugh’s appearance in Hawkeye.

Florence Pugh revealed she would tease David Harbour on the ‘Black Widow’ set

While speaking with Buzzfeed during the Black Widow press tour, Florence Pugh shared behind-the-scenes secrets from the set. She even confessed that she would mess with David Harbour while filming.

“I’m a bit of a joker,” Pugh said. “I just like teasing. I did get into a really nice habit of putting my finger up David’s nose in really inconvenient times. And he really liked it.”

And she also discussed how she would make fun of how Harbour walked in his Red Guardian suit. Pugh revealed, “I remember copying the way that David would walk in his suit and being full-on Russian papa.”

But despite the joking, the entire Black Widow cast, including Florence Pugh, became a family on the set. Harbour said, “I do think when we started shooting we, sort of, fell into our role and that family dynamic of us really started to emerge naturally. Scarlett [Johansson] being the oldest daughter, [and] Florence being the younger baby.”

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What does the future look like for Yelena Belova?

The next time fans saw Florence Pugh as Yelena after Black Widow was in Hawkeye on Disney+. She wanted revenge for her sister’s death, but after an intense fight, Clint made her see that Natasha made the decision to sacrifice her life. So what’s next for Pugh in the MCU?

Many fans speculate that Pugh might star in her own Black Widow movie after Yelena carries on Natasha’s legacy as the Black Widow. But Marvel nor Pugh have confirmed what’s next for Yelena.

Following the release of Spider-Man: No Way Home, Tom Holland told The Zoe Ball Breakfast Show that he wants to work with Pugh in the MCU. He said, “[A Spider-Man and Black Widow crossover] hasn’t been suggested to the big bosses yet, but Florence and I have definitely spoken about it. And hopefully one day, we can make that happen. That would be very cool.”

Black Widow is available to stream on Disney+.

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