‘Black Widow’ Star Shares the Downside of Her Marvel Career

The Black Widow (2021) star speaks out!

In every franchise, there are going to be ups and downs. Being a part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe would bring its fair share: the potential to be a hero or villain that people the world over will recognize, the opportunity to work with amazing scripts, and the chance to work with and learn from outstanding talent in the industry, if only for a while.

Related: Steven Yeun Addresses Role in Marvel’s ‘Thunderbolts’

Marvel, in particular, also brings with it a unique time commitment. Who knew when Robert Downey Jr. signed on to play Tony Stark/Iron Man that he would play the role for 11 years? That’s nothing to say of the other first-generation Avengers like Steve Rogers (Chris Evans), Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Clint Barton (Jeremy Renner), and Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson), who each put in a comparable amount of time as well.

Though it took some time, Romanoff (Johansson) finally got her own solo film with Black Widow, which offered her a fitting farewell to the franchise, as well as introduced the next generation with Florence Pugh as Yelena Belova. Of the many favorable elements of the film, the chemistry between the leads, Johansson and Pugh, as well as David Harbour as Red Guardian, was the highlight. The three played the dysfunctional family extraordinarily well and really made the movie.

The biggest shame of it all was that fans knew it would be the last time those three, in particular, would be seen together in that context. Despite the best efforts of Hawkeye (Renner) and Hulk (Ruffalo), Black Widow (Johansson) was gone for good after having helped to save the entire universe. As much of a bummer as that fact was for fans, it was just as much of a low point for at least one of the stars of Black Widow, as fans have now learned.

The Direct recently reported on an interview that Black Widow star Florence Pugh did with the Happy Sad Confused Podcast. The Star spoke about her involvement in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and how excited she is for the future of her character in upcoming projects like Thunderbolts (2024), in which she gets to reunite with David Harbour, who plays her adopted father. Pugh also detailed that she already felt sad that she wouldn’t be working with Scarlett Johansson again in the franchise:

“I know. It’s so weird, because I did a movie with her, and her character obviously had already passed. And so it’s like false hope, really. Yeah, I just got pulled in and then it was like, ‘Nope, you’re never gonna do that again.’”

Though Black Widow was a perfect passing of the torch from one Black Widow to the next, it is a low point for Marvel fans to think that Johannson and Pugh, despite their outstanding chemistry, won’t be on screen together again in that context. The upside to it is that, while the third part of their trio won’t be returning, at least fans will see David Harbour and Florence Pugh back together again for Thunderbolts in a relatively short time!

Related: Despite Character’s Death, Marvel Confirms Sequel to ‘Black Widow’

Thunderbolts comes to theaters on July 26, 2024. The film stars Florence Pugh as Yelena Belova, Sebastian Stan as Bucky Barnes, Wyatt Russell as John Walker/US Agent, Olga Kurylenko as Taskmaster, David Harbour as Red Guardian, Hannah John-Kamen as Ghost, Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Harrison Ford’s Thaddeus Ross. With no official synopsis, Thunderbolts could be taken a lot of different ways in the Marvel Cinematic Universe!

What do you think about Pugh’s comments? Let Inside the Magic know in the comments below!