As Florence Pugh and David Harbour enter into the home stretch of the Thunderbolts * press tour, a couple of key absences are on their minds from their collective MCU debut in 2021’s Black Widow.

Several of the main characters, including Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh), the ensemble’s apparent lead, were previously introduced or featured in the 2021 film Black Widow.

In Black Widow's post-credits scene, Valentina Allegra de Fontaine tasked Yelena Belova with killing Clint Barton. Val allowed the former Red Room operative to believe he killed her sister ...

Marvel Cinematic Universe Florence Pugh Reveals Lengths That Thunderbolts* Went To Guard The New Avengers Twist Marvel Cinematic Universe Thunderbolts* Director Says The Film Isn’t A Black Widow ...

As Florence Pugh and David Harbour enter into the home stretch of the Thunderbolts* press tour, a couple of key absences are on their minds from their collective MCU debut in 2021’s Black Widow.

Taskmaster, or Antonia Dreykov (Olga Kurelenko), was also introduced in Black Widow. She had a traumatic childhood much like Natasha and Yelena. Hannah John-Kamen’s Ava Starr, aka Ghost ...

Just like her adopted sister Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), Yelena is a skilled assassin who survived her childhood training in Russia’s brutal Red Room.

"Thunderbolts*" is currently tracking a $70 million opening weekend which isn't the best news for Marvel. It would be a good number for most movies but is on the low side for a Marvel blockbuster.

Recent appearances: “Black Widow” Antonia Dreykov is another graduate of the Red Room, the Soviet female assassin initiative run by her father (Ray Winstone).

It's a shame that Marvel Studios failed to give us the Black Widow story we actually wanted, perhaps an honest-to-goodness prequel, but Thunderbolts* can redeem this missed opportunity.