Who Could Have Been Wanda Maximoff? Florence Pugh’s Marvel Role Almost Went to Another Superstar

Florence Pugh’s Marvel Character Was Almost Played By Another Acclaimed Actress

<img class="gallery-image" src="https://www.slashfilm.com/img/gallery/florence-pughs-marvel-character-was-almost-played-by-another-acclaimed-actress/intro-1728430349.jpg" alt="Florence Pugh as Yelena Boleva in Marvel’s Thunderbolts*"
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Marvel Studios

2021’s "Black Widow" was always a puzzling movie for me. You’re finally giving the one woman on The Avengers her own movie after you kill her off in "Avengers: Endgame"? Hence it is a prequel, one that takes place within the third act of "Captain America: Civil War." Then there’s the film’s story being built around the vague allusions to Widow’s history in "The Avengers" from "Dreykov’s daughter" to a past mission in Budapest. Once more, wiki-brained nerds proved they can’t tell when a line is there to suggest a character has an offscreen history, not set up a spin-off.

But having seen "Black Widow," I understand why it got pushed to Phase 4. The movie is more than anything a torch passing from one Widow to the next: Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson) to her little sister, Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh). Pugh has since shown up as Yelena in the Disney+ series "Hawkeye" and is headlining next year’s "Thunderbolts*" alongside some other Marvel anti-heroes.

Pugh may be mostly a dramatic actor, but she’s got charisma and comedic skill (with a side of improvisation) enough to stay afloat in any Marvel blockbuster. But Pugh wasn’t Marvel’s first choice for Yelena: it was Irish actress Saoirse Ronan, as shared by reporter Justin Kroll during an appearance on "The Town with Matthew Belloni" podcast. Kroll said Marvel isn’t Ronan’s "cup of tea," and Ronan herself admitted (in a recent Deadline interview), "I can’t see myself doing Marvel." (James Bond, on the other hand…)

Saoirse Ronan also came close to playing Marvel’s Scarlet Witch

<img class="gallery-image" src="https://www.slashfilm.com/img/gallery/florence-pughs-marvel-character-was-almost-played-by-another-acclaimed-actress/saoirse-ronan-also-came-close-to-playing-marvels-scarlet-witch-1728430349.jpg"
data-slide-url="https://www.slashfilm.com/1683545/florence-pugh-marvel-yelena-belova-saoirse-ronan/" data-post-id="1683545" data-slide-num="1" data-slide-title="Saoirse Ronan also came close to playing Marvel’s Scarlet Witch"
width="780" height="438" alt="Marvel Andy Park Scarlet Witch Wanda Maximoff concept art Avengers: Age of Ultron" />
Marvel Studios

"Black Widow" isn’t the only Marvel project that tried to cast Saoirse Ronan. During the development of "Avengers: Age of Ultron," Ronan was writer-director Joss Whedon’s "prototype" (i.e. the person he envisioned while writing) for Wanda Maximoff/The Scarlet Witch. Obviously, the part instead went to Elizabeth Olsen, who starred in Marvel films/TV from 2014 to 2022 (and potentially beyond).

**What do you think? Share your thoughts in the comments section below!