Note: Light spoilers for “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” ahead
“Spider-Man: Brand New Day” sees the return of a whole bunch of franchise favorites, but perhaps the most delightful of them is Florence Pugh’s Yelena Belova. But hey, remember that time Pugh herself manifested this team-up?
Back in 2023, Pugh was on the press run for her film “A Good Person,” in which she starred alongside Morgan Freeman, and stopped by BuzzFeed for their classic puppy interview. At the time, the actress was asked which Marvel character she’d like to see Yelena interact with in the future.
“I mean, it would have to be Spider-Man,” she said. “I think they’d be so silly together. It would be so fun, as well. And I’ve been desperate to meet Tom for such a long time.”
“Also I really think Yelena would be able to really, really take the piss out of him in a really good and healthy way, so that would be wonderful,” Pugh added.
And uh, boy was she correct. In “Brand New Day,” Yelena forces Peter to come see her in her “office,” which is actually just a bathhouse. Not only is he forced to go there, but she also makes him get into the bath with her — to prove he has no weapons, of course — and gives him a hard time for the Internet fan art of him, and his refusal to remove his mask.
Later in the film, Yelena roasts Peter again, noting that she’s just glad the “sad man” has friends once she meets MJ (Zendaya) and Ned (Jacob Batalon).
Now the question is, could Pugh have actually been teasing this team-up during her puppy interview? It’s hard to say, given the secretive nature of things at Marvel.
But, as of November that year — Pugh’s puppy interview happened in March 2023 — Tom Holland said during a press conference: “All I can say is that we have been actively engaging in conversations about what it could potentially look like for a fourth rendition of my character.” Nothing seemed concrete yet, and a fourth Spider-Man film wasn’t even officially on the schedule.
So, it appears Pugh might’ve just been ahead of the game.
“Spider-Man: Brand New Day” is in theaters everywhere.
