Two of the Thunderbolts* stars agree that one of their former costars in the Marvel Cinematic Universe needs to make a comeback. Thunderbolts* comes out in theaters later this week, as the outcasts of the MCU join together to stop a powerful new threat. Florence Pugh and David Harbour star in Thunderbolts* as Yelena Belova and Alexei Shostakov/Red Guardian, the adoptive sister and father of Scarlett Johansson’s Black Widow. They made their MCU debuts in 2021’s Black Widow, alongside Rachel Weisz as the mother of the family, Melina Vostokoff. Melina is curiously missing from Thunderbolts*, but Pugh and Harbour want to see her back with their family.
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The Hollywood Reporter spoke to Florence Pugh and David Harbour about Thunderbolts*. They were asked what happened to Alexei and Melina after Black Widow, with Harbour noting how he sees a lot of potential in Weisz’s Melina.
“We don’t know what happened to Melina,” Pugh said, with Harbour adding, “No, [we don’t]. I’ve talked to [Marvel] people about Melina, and I think there’s still very much potential for Melina.” Harbour then shared how Black Widow cut a romantic scene between Alexei and Melina during the film’s final moments. As he noted, you can’t focus on two supporting characters when Black Widow is fighting for her life against Taskmaster.
“But I do think that there’s potential for Melina’s reemergence in some kind of interesting way, and I would love to have her back in Alexei’s life. She would add such an interesting complexity,” he added.
[RELATED: Marvel’s Thunderbolts* Review: Florence Pugh Shines in a Marvel Mixed Bag]
We’ll have to see how Thunderbolts* reintroduces Red Guardian without Melina being in the mix. Trailers for the movie show Yelena visiting her adoptive father at his home, where he’s living in squalor and letting himself go. Whether Red Guardian is living with Melina or if she’s off having her own adventures is unknown at this time.
While the stars are clamoring for Melina’s return, fans have noticed that one of the Thunderbolts has been curiously missing from TV spots and trailers. A scene of the Thunderbolts inside the former Avengers Tower — now renamed the Watchtower — removed Taskmaster, who had previously been shown inside the building standing with her Thunderbolts teammates. It’s not known if this is simply a mistake, or another example of Marvel Studios faking out its fans once again. The speculation is that Taskmaster won’t survive the events of Thunderbolts*, especially since the actress who plays Taskmaster wasn’t among the cast that are returning for Avengers: Doomsday.
Black Widow was released during a chaotic time for not only Marvel Studios, but for the entire film industry. Theaters were closed because of the COVID-19 pandemic, leading Disney’s then-CEO Bob Chapek to drop Black Widow on Disney+. The line of thinking was that Black Widow would help boost subscriptions on the streaming service, but star Scarlett Johansson sued for breach of contract. She is now back on good terms with Disney, and is even working on a “top secret” project, which she is producing. The project was paused because of the writers’ and actors’ strikes.
“I don’t hold a grudge,” Johansson told The New York Times in 2024. “I think it was just poor judgment and poor leadership at that time. It just felt very unprofessional to me, the entire ordeal. And honestly, I was incredibly disappointed, especially because I was holding out hope until, finally, my team was like, ‘You have to act.’”
“It is still happening. Yes,” Johansson told ComicBook about her secret project in 2023. “It is still happening, [but] not currently because nothing is happening right now. We’re all sort of in this holding pattern as we wait out the writers’ strike and potentially our own guild strike, and so on and so forth.”
Do you want to see Melina back in the MCU with her Black Widow family? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
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