Florence Pugh joined the MCU when she signed on to play Yelena Belova in Black Widow. Her casting in the franchise comes as she was in the midst of a rising career in Hollywood and she was seen as one of the must-see young actresses on screen.
However, it also received some backlash as there was a perception that she won't be doing any independent films anymore and will rather be involved in a big-budget studio movie for the majority of her career.
Florence Pugh Responds to the Backlash on Joining the MCU
In an interview with Time Magazine where she was featured as one of this year's "Next Generation Leaders," the Oscar-nominated actress shared her thoughts on the backlash that she received when she signed on to the MCU.
Pugh iterated that her MCU involvement will not stop her interest in doing independent films and she'll always find time to do both kinds of projects.
"So many people in the indie film world were really pissed off at me. They were like, ‘Great, now she’s gone forever,’ And I’m like, no, I’m working as hard as I used to work," she said.
"I’ve always done back-to-back movies. It’s just people are watching them now. You just have to be a bit more organized with your schedule."
If you look at the actress' IMDb credits in the past couple of years, the truth is definitely in the pudding since we have seen her do various projects in different styles, scales, and studios which solidify her stance about joining the MCU.
The actress has also only appeared in two MCU projects (both in 2021) so far and we won't be seeing her again until the summer of next year where she will be leading the team-up film Thunderbolts.
Pugh's Career Since Joining the MCU
If you look at current actors today who successfully managed to do both studio and independent/low-budget films successfully, Pugh is definitely one of the great examples, especially in her demographic.
While playing Yelena Belova in the MCU, she also did films such as The Wonder and A Good Person, both smaller-scale projects where she is the lead. She also starred in Don't Worry Darling, a mid-budget studio film that did well at the box office despite the controversies.
This year, Pugh will be seen in two studio movies Dune: Part Two and Oppenheimer, both directed by acclaimed filmmakers who are considered as some of the best in cinema today.
The actress is also currently working on a romantic drama film with fellow MCU actor Andrew Garfield, an independent project that is going to be distributed by A24.
There is no doubt that the actress was "not gone" from the independent movie front and she is still able to work in both scales which is exactly what she promised when she joined the MCU.
Also Read: Chris Hemsworth Casts Doubt on Thor's MCU Return
Pugh's next MCU movie Thunderbolts is slated for release in theaters on July 26, 2024. You can check more details about it here.
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