New Hawkeye Featurette Is All About Yelena Belova
Spoilers ahead through episode 5 of "Hawkeye."
Days away from the "Hawkeye" season finale, Marvel is directing our attention away from all that spidey-boy multiverse madness, back to where it truly belongs: Florence Pugh. Sure, this series revolving around Clint Barton (Jeremy Renner) has been a great opportunity for our bow-wielding avenger to take center stage, but the titular character must first withstand the shining presence of everyone's favorite deadly assassin, Yelena Belova (Pugh).
First seen helping her sister take down a super-secret agency of specialized assassins, Yelena has finally returned (after a long 5 months of us waiting) with a new mission — to kill Hawkeye. Does that technically make her the villain of this story? Nah.
Okay, maybe a little, but mostly not.
This series has a whole other big bad to worry about, so by comparison, Yelena's deep-seated anger and desire to literally kill Clint where he stands is ... minor. As far as I'm concerned, Yelena's return is something to celebrate, and Marvel seems to agree. To mark the glorious occasion, the studio has released a new character poster (featuring Yelena in assassin mode but now with lipstick!) and a featurette delving into her grand return.
Yelena Belova is Back
Resident scene-stealer Florence Pugh simply won't rest until she's leaped through the long-awaited solo story of each underserved Marvel hero and seized the spotlight for herself. After joining the MCU in last summer's superhero blockbuster, "Black Widow," Pugh quickly became the talk of the town. Known for her roles in films like "Midsommar" and "Little Women," Pugh showcased her range as a skilled assassin who somehow doubles as a warm and charming presence.
Yelena was quickly beloved, partially because she was so emotionally grounded by her relationship to her sister and fellow Black Widow, Natasha (Scarlett Johansson). Some might argue that she even outshone the movie's titular star. Now that "Hawkeye" finally has his moment in the spotlight, Yelena swoops in again, now with knives out and guns loaded. So far, their brief encounter didn't leave much time for conversation — as the pair were too busy squaring off in combat — but with one episode left in the series, fingers crossed that Clint and Yelena manage to work out their differences. We don't know too much about how Yelena will spend the final episode, but based on the poster below, she'll be skulking around in style.
Disney+
"It's been a really good first two years in the MCU," Pugh says in the featurette, hinting that we can expect to see plenty more of her scene-stealing ways in future Marvel projects. If she and Clint manage a conversation that doesn't have deadly consequences, hopefully, she can even find time to bond with Kate Bishop (Hailee Steinfeld). The pair are basically the best of friends as is ... minus that one time she pointed a gun at her face. They've already exchanged some gossip and shared mac and cheese; the next step in any healthy friendship is obviously forming a team of heroes and fighting crime! Beyond the fact that Pugh and Steinfeld are magic onscreen together, they also make a fascinating pair because their personalities clash. Yelena has a pragmatic approach to her past, shrugging off the heroism that Kate naively embraces. They can have all sorts of philosophical debates over pasta!