Florence Pugh plays coy regarding her future as Black Widow in the MCU

Although Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) may have shuffled off this mortal coil in AVENGERS: ENDGAME, the character will be returning in BLACK WIDOW, a film that takes place after the events of CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR and will serve as something of a swan-song for the character. However, it's possible that Black Widow may not be gone for long as the film does put the gears in motion for someone else to take on the mantle of Black Widow.

Scarlett Johansson will be starring in BLACK WIDOW alongside Florence Pugh, who will be playing Yelena Belova, who is something of a sister-figure to Johansson's character. It's been said that the film will find Black Widow "handing the baton" over to Yelena, but Pugh played coy when she was asked about her future in the Marvel Cinematic Universe by Total Film.

If you get asked to be in a Marvel film, and it was so thrilling and fun and exciting to be in, then of course, your head goes: ‘Oh my God. If this is what it’s like, then what else is next? If that happens and I am lucky enough that people appreciate my character, that’s an exciting road to go on. I would be silly to not be excited by it. I think that being part of the Marvel club is a great honour. But we’ll just see if people like Yelena first.

Scarlett Johansson isn't nearly so coy, saying she had hoped that Florence Pugh would take over the franchise from the start. "I definitely felt that way from the very beginning," said Johansson. "She stands completely on her own. She’s strong and different. She’s so different to Natasha." In addition to Johansson and Pugh, BLACK WIDOW also stars Rachel Weisz, David Harbour, and O.T. Fagbenle.

The official synopsis for BLACK WIDOW:

In Marvel Studios’ action-packed spy thriller “Black Widow,” Natasha Romanoff aka Black Widow confronts the darker parts of her ledger when a dangerous conspiracy with ties to her past arises. Pursued by a force that will stop at nothing to bring her down, Natasha must deal with her history as a spy and the broken relationships left in her wake long before she became an Avenger.

BLACK WIDOW is currently slated to hit theaters on November 6, 2020, but there have been rumblings that the film may be pushed back to 2021.