Florence Pugh says it was 'daunting' to join the MCU in 'Black Widow', and do a Russian accent

Florence Pugh has admitted she found it “daunting” to join the MCU in Black Widow and that she was concerned about doing a Russian accent.

The British actress plays Yelena Belova — a sister figure to Scarlett Johansson’s title character — in the Marvel film, which was delayed as a result of the coronavirus.

Directed by Cate Shortland, the movie follows Johansson’s character in between the events of Captain America: Civil War and Avengers: Infinity War.

Read more: Black Widow to delve into character’s exploits between MCU films

Pugh’s star has been on the rise for several years, culminating in an Oscar nomination for last year’s Little Women, but joining the MCU is another huge milestone.

“When you think of Marvel, it’s big and daunting,” the 24-year-old told Elle magazine. “Especially being a relatively small actor to look at it and go “oh, I’m going to be a part of this,” that’s a big decision.”

Pugh said she was concerned about the reaction to her character when she was unveiled at San Diego Comic-Con and a clip from the movie revealed the first look at her performance.

She said: “I was scared because my Russian accent was going to be out there and I didn’t know what it sounded like.

“I’m also playing a character who no one’s seen before but they’ve read about her. I didn’t know whether people were going to hate me.”

Read more: Pugh says Black Widow is “raw, painful and beautiful”

Black Widow marks Johansson’s eighth appearance as Natasha Romanoff and also stars David Harbour and Rachel Weisz.

The movie is due to delve into the heart of the Black Widow character and explore previously untouched elements of her back-story.

Johansson has described the movie as a ”brave” take on the idea of a “family drama”.

Read more: Best viewing order for the MCU

Disney has shuffled the release dates of its MCU movies, with Black Widow now set for release on 6 November, 2020.

The movie will fire the starting pistol on Phase Four of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but is set well before Natasha’s death in Avengers: Endgame.