Thunderbolts Stars Dish on Scarlett Johansson & Tom Cruise

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With Florence Pugh and David Harbour nearing the final stages of promoting “Thunderbolts,” they’re pondering over a few notable missing faces from their joint appearance in 2021’s “Black Widow” within the MCU.

When I stepped into the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Yelena Belova, it was clear that I was set to follow in the footsteps of Scarlett Johansson’s iconic character, Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow. Given that Johansson’s heroic figure had perished two years prior in Avengers: Endgame, her selfless sacrifice was instrumental in defeating Thanos and resurrecting the population he had erased, including Yelena and me.

Johansson’s belated solo film initially aimed to reveal the backstory of Natasha and Yelena, as well as hand over the mantle to her adoptive sister. In the early ’90s, they lived together in Ohio for three years, pretending to be the daughters of Alexei Shostakov (Harbour) and Melina Vostokoff (Rachel Weisz). One unexpected day, their covert operation came to an end, causing them to be transferred to the Black Widow Program within the Red Room.

After Yelena came back from the anomaly, CIA director Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (played by Julia Louis-Dreyfus) mistakenly accused Clint Barton (Jeremy Renner) of Natasha’s death. However, this wasn’t cleared up until the Disney+ series Hawkeye. It’s not the first time de Fontaine has intentionally misled Yelena, as Jake Schreier’s Thunderbolts shows her character setting a deadly trap for Yelena and other MCU solo characters. To escape this danger, they were forced to work together to combat a far more significant threat.

With Pugh taking the front role in the Thunderbolts team, she expresses gratitude for Johansson’s role in propelling her career within the MCU and shares the void she feels having Johansson absent during filming.

“I joined Marvel because Scarlett believed in me and invited me to be part of ‘Black Widow’ six years ago, as shared with The Hollywood Reporter for the upcoming release of ‘Thunderbolts’ on May 2. I truly miss her being around. It was heartbreaking… it was my only chance to share this world with her. But I can’t help but hope that she is proud.”

Harbour finds himself pondering where Alexei’s partner Melina currently resides. The finale of Cate Shortland’s Black Widow showed Yelena, Melina, and Alexei guiding the liberated Widows to safety under the Red Room, leading one to believe that their reunion would last, given an intimate deleted scene. Although unused footage usually isn’t considered canon, it seems that Harbour has been advocating for more scenes involving Melina and Weisz on set.

Harbour expressed that he’s had conversations about Melina with Marvel representatives, and he believes there’s still a lot more we can see from this character. He mentioned a touching scene, now cut, where his character and Rachel shared a kiss following an accident. This moment was one of his favorites from the movie. He also hinted at the possibility of Melina returning in a unique manner, expressing his desire for her to reappear in Alexei’s storyline again.

There’s been a lot of conversation about Pugh’s daring skyscraper stunt at the start of Thunderbolts, which she actively advocated to Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige. Not only did she push for the scene to be reinstated after it was cut out for some time, but she also convinced him to let her perform the leap off Kuala Lumpur’s Merdeka 118, currently the world’s second tallest building. In an interview with THR, Schreier revealed that this stunt and its promotional potential were designed as a spin on Tom Cruise’s Mission: Impossible antics, and now Pugh is also admitting that Cruise served as her inspiration for the jump.

Pugh remarked that her email to Feige became more assertive when the scene was removed from the movie. However, she added that everything Tom Cruise does, particularly his stunts and acting, is extremely impressive. She admitted that she probably won’t be performing the same stunts as Cruise, like flying machines or riding motorbikes. But, she enjoyed the small amount of action this role provided her. So, it was a blast to momentarily emulate Tom Cruise.

In a recent chat with THR, I myself shared some insights about the collaboration between Disney and Netflix that enabled me to shoot for both ‘Thunderbolts’ and ‘Stranger Things 5’ concurrently.

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As a devoted fan, I can’t help but empathize with Yelena, who, though she’s now caring for her new guinea pig, still feels the void left by her sister, Natasha. Interestingly enough, the set did have someone reminiscent of Natasha – Heidi Moneymaker, Scarlett Johansson’s long-time stunt double. Did you ever sense Scarlett’s absence and express it like Yelena does?

FLORENCE PUGH It’s true, and it’s all thanks to Scarlett giving me the chance six years ago to join her in the Black Widow film. I still feel that absence, and it seems unfair that we didn’t get to work together again after starting this journey together. (Laughs.) It was quite extraordinary that our shared adventure in the Marvel universe began and ended with Black Widow. Yet, I always hope she’s proud of what we accomplished together. I often think about whether she’s content that we were part of this journey. So yes, I truly miss her on set, as our time there was filled with laughter.

David, when Alexei is not gargling Palmolive dish soap …

DAVID HARBOUR (Laughs.) He isn’t actually swishing it around like mouthwash! Instead, he was simply cleaning his teeth with it. To be fair, there might be the occasional gargle, my apologies. *wink*

Do you think he still pines for Rachel Weisz’s character? 

PUGH Aww.

What happened to Alexei and Melina, post-Black Widow?

HARBOUR That’s a great question, and in fact, I would love to get into that.

PUGH We don’t know what happened to Melina. 

DOCKYARD Negative, [we haven’t]. I’ve had discussions with representatives from Marvel regarding Melina, and I believe there is still a great deal of opportunity left for Melina.

PUGH Hope!

In the making of Black Widow, there wasn’t a space for this particular scene within the film itself, given that it primarily focused on Scarlett’s character. However, supplementary material such as DVD extras revealed…

The kiss!

In the movie, there was a touching moment between me and Rachel following the accident. I even touched her face. That scene remains one of my favorites from the film.

PUGH It was cut? 

Sure thing! How about this:
HARBOUR Instead, let’s shift our attention to the two sidekicks for a moment. “Shall we take a look at their roles in the movie?

PUGH & HARBOUR (Laugh.)

I believe there’s a possibility for Melina to make a compelling return to the storyline, and it would be delightful to see her interact with Alexei again. Her presence would certainly bring about an intriguing layer of complexity.

Before “Sassy Karen” emailed Kevin Feige about the skyscraper stunt, were you captivated by Mission: Impossible behind-the-scenes footage when inspiration hit? Well, I must clarify that it wasn’t my own idea to do that daring leap. It was already part of the script, and I was astounded at how spectacularly they had set up the story with a character jumping off a building as an opening scene. When they decided to cut that scene, though, I must admit I became quite bold in my responses. (Laughs.) But let’s face it, anything Tom Cruise does, whether it comes to stunts or acting, is simply incredible. I can’t help but feel a bit envious and wish I could do what he does for even a brief moment. Frankly, I don’t envision myself soaring through the air on a motorbike or piloting planes, but this was just the right amount of action for me. So yes, it was enjoyable to imagine myself as Tom Cruise for a short while.

David, during our last conversation, it seemed that your overly busy summer had abruptly ended because of the strikes. I’m curious if you managed to work on Thunderbolts, Stranger Things, and A Working Man all at once despite this interruption?

HARBOUR (Laughs.) Yeah, I was doing Stranger Things 5, Thunderbolts and A Working Man.

PUGH Way too employed!

Over the course of a whirlwind weekend, I found myself in the heart of London to catch a glimpse of HARBOUR [A Working Man]. Despite the hectic scheduling, I couldn’t resist the allure of their work. Frankly, I’m not one to decline such an opportunity!

PUGH Yeah, me neither. 

PORT When I cherish something, I strive to find a solution that suits it, and these franchises recognize their mutual significance. Thus, I believe Disney and Netflix are attempting to collaborate harmoniously, with the intention of making each other content. Consequently, it’s been delightful to witness how everyone has been able to resolve issues amicably.

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Thunderbolts* opens in movie theaters nationwide on May 2.

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2025-04-28 20:56