Black Widow Almost Starred Saoirse Ronan

Black Widow very nearly starred Saoirse Ronan.

According to Justin Kroll on podcast The Town, Oscar nominee Ronan was offered the role of Yelena Belova, sister to Scarlett Johansson’s Natasha Romanoff.

Ronan allegedly declined it, however, and that role eventually went to Florence Pugh.

The move ended up being a good one, though. Pugh was one of the standouts in Black Widow, and went on to feature in one of 2023’s biggest hits in Oppenheimer. She’s also appearing in the massive Dune: Part 2 later this year.

As for Ronan, she featured in Wes Anderson’s well-received The French Dispatch in 2021, the year Black Widow released, so she didn’t do too badly either.

Meanwhile, Steven Yeun drops out of Marvel’s Thunderbolts.