Black Widow’s Florence Pugh Reveals Why She Really Wanted To Do The Marvel Movie

Florence Pugh in Black Widow

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2019 was a star-making year for actress Florence Pugh. After starring in the wrestling biopic Fighting with My Family, Pugh had two major movies hit theaters. First came Ari Aster's modern horror classic Midsommar, and the latter being Oscar contender Little Women. As if the actress hasn't already proven her versatility when it comes to genre, she'll make her Marvel debut in Black Widow in 2020. And now Pugh has explained to us why she joined the highly anticipated solo flick.

Cate Shortland's Black Widow will kick off Phase Four when it arrives this May, finally giving Scarlett Johansson's signature Avenger her own movie. Set between the events of Civil War and Infinity War, the upcoming movie will reveal Natasha's other family, including Pugh as her sister figure Yelena Belova. We recently got the chance to speak with Pugh about her role as Amy in Little Women, where she explained why she deiced to join Black Widow. As she put it,

I loved the script, and I love Cate Shortland. And I think everything that they’re trying to do with that film is make it as painful and as real and as gritty as possible and it was exactly like that when we made it. And that was a really nice thing to get to, and of course I got to be with the Black Widow and watch her work, which was pretty amazing considering she’s been the only female superhero for the past 10 years.

It looks like it was all about the script itself. Black Widow was written by Jac Schaeffer and Ned Benson, and it seems the material packed a punch on the page. Although just what the upcoming solo flick will contain remains a mystery.

Florence Pugh's comments came from a conversation she had with CinemaBlend ahead of the release of Little Women. The 23 year-old actress has shown an ability to pick stellar film project to be apart of, if 2019 was any indication. Joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe is a big choice, but it looks like Pugh was taken by the story being told. Black Widow will do a deep dive into its title character, who has been a supporting character in a whopping seven movies throughout the last decade of filmmaking.

Marvel fans can catch up on Black Widow's tenure in the MCU over on Disney+, including her fate in Avengers: Endgame. You can use this link for a free 7-day trial for the streaming service.

Black Widow was the OG female superhero of the MCU, and for a large time she was the only one. Natasha Romanoff is in many ways the heart of The Avengers, and has a deep connection with characters like Tony, Steve, and Bruce. But her sordid past has never truly been unpacked, although that's expected to happen during the Black Widow movie. This is another concept that appealed to Florence Pugh: servicing the main female character of the entire franchise.

You can check out CinemaBlend's Hannah Saulic and her conversation with Florence Pugh about Black Widow below.

Related: Florence Pugh’s Yelena Will Not Take Over As The New Black Widow, According To The Actress

It should be interesting to see how much Black Widow reveals about Natasha's past, in addition to filling in holes in her character's timeline. The movie's explosive first trailer revealed that the movie ill be going back to pre-Phase One, as we see Widow sign onto S.H.I.E.L.D. at the behest of a de-aged Thaddeus Ross. I assume we'll also get a glimpse into the Red Room, which trained her to become a ruthless assassin as a girl.

All will be revealed when Black Widow hits theaters on May 1st, 2020, and you can catch Florence Pugh in Little Women on December 25, 2019. In the meantime, check out our 2020 release list to plan your next trip to the movies.

Corey Chichizola
Movies Editor

Corey was born and raised in New Jersey. Graduated with degrees theater and literature from Ramapo College of New Jersey. After working in administrative theater for a year in New York, he started as the Weekend Editor at CinemaBlend. He's since been able to work himself up to reviews, phoners, and press junkets-- and is now able to appear on camera with some of his favorite actors... just not as he would have predicted as a kid. He's particularly proud of covering horror franchises like Scream and Halloween, as well as movie musicals like West Side Story. Favorite interviews include Steven Spielberg, Spike Lee, Jamie Lee Curtis, and more.