Saoirse Ronan Was First Offered the Role of Yelena Belova in BLACK WIDOW but She Turned It Down — GeekTyrant

Saoirse Ronan has had a solid career, having already been nominated for four Oscars and bringing us solid performances in the films Atonement, The Lovely Bones, Hanna, Brooklyn, Lady Bird, and Little Women, among several others, and while that’s already an impressive list, she also had the chance to play Yelena Belova in the MCU.

She was offered the role of Natasha/Black Widow’s sister in the film Black Widow, which ultimately went to her Little Women co-star, Florence Pugh.

The info was revealed by Deadline’s Justin Kroll during a recent appearance on The Town podcast (via CBM), where he said:

“The Saoirse thing, I’ve heard stuff she’s passed on. She passed on Florence [Pugh]’s role in Black Widow, the sister. Marvel has not been her cup of tea, and she was not interested.”

Some people see Marvel roles as steady work with a nice sized paycheck, but others are more inclined to work on a bigger variety of projects, with more freedom to choose what’s next. There’s no fault in either route, and Ronan has done well for herself without taking on this role. Plus Pugh was perfect as Yelena.

Ronan can next be seen in this year’s drama feature The Outrun, based on Amy Liptrot’s bestselling memoir, in theaters on January 19th.