Black Widow star Florence Pugh explains post-credits scene

Pugh is expected to reprise her role in future MCU instalments

Black Widow star Florence Pugh has explained the meaning of the film’s dramatic post-credits scene.

In the recently released Marvel thriller starring Scarlett Johansson, Pugh plays Yelena Belova, a skilled assassin who is something of a sister to Natasha Romanoff (Johansson).

The film is a prequel, set shortly after the events of Captain America: Civil War. Like most films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it includes a scene after the end credits.

Set in the present day, the post-credits scene sees Yelena visit Natasha’s grave, where she is approached by Contessa Valentina Allegra de la Fontaine, a figure played by Julia Louis-Dreyfus (who previously appeared in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier).

Yelena is then shown a picture of Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner), who is seemingly being blamed for Natasha’s death in Avengers: Endgame (2019).

Explaining the scene to Variety, Pugh said: “[Yelena’s] going to continue what she’s good at, and despite her sister not being there, she’s back working.

“If you look at her costume, and you look at the way that she’s dressed herself, it shows someone that’s flourishing,” she continued. “To me, it was just really wonderful to kind of jump ahead and see she has been surviving. But, of course, it sets up a whole different challenge — which is Natasha’s fighting partner.”

It has been widely reported that Pugh will return as Yelena in the Disney Plus series Hawkeye, alongside Renner and Hailee Steinfeld.

Black Widow is out in cinemas and on Disney Plus’s paid Premiere Access service now.