Summary

Avengers: Secret Wars will feature Florence Pugh's Yelena as a significant character, setting her up for a big role in the MCU.
Yelena's involvement in future projects signals her survival in upcoming threats and potential leadership in the Thunderbolts team.
Yelena's importance in the MCU could position her to be a key figure in the new Avengers lineup following Captain America's choices.

There is a lot of hype and attention surrounding Avengers: Doomsday right now. It will be released on May 1, 2026, and will be the first major Avengers film since Avengers: Endgame, which was released on April 26, 2019. However, just one year later, it will be followed by Avengers: Secret Wars, which might be going under the radar right now but is set to be a crucial film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

A lot of the focus is going on the fact that the X-Men have been teased to join the MCU after that movie or potentially even during it. However, other characters haven't been involved in the Avengers movies that are expected to be part of these two films. The likes of Deadpool and Daredevil have been rumored to have roles in them, but now another upcoming MCU character is reportedly set to be involved.

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By Matthew Wilkinson

According to Alex Perez, during the latest Cosmic Circus Q&A, Florence Pugh's character Yelena is set to play a significant role in Avengers: Secret Wars. It remains to be seen whether or not she's going to be part of Avengers: Doomsday, but it's clear that Marvel Studios has big plans for the Thunderbolts* character, who has already appeared in two previous MCU projects. She was involved in Black Widow where Marvel introduced her and showcased the close connection she has to Natasha Romanoff, while that storyline was then continued in the Disney Plus series, Hawkeye.

Yelena will be returning to the MCU later this year as she's part of the Thunderbolts* team, and the fact that she's expected to be involved in future projects is a sign that she is going to survive the threats that will be posed in that movie. It could also be a sign that she will end up being the leader of the unconventional Thunderbolts* team, as Marvel Studios is going to want to position her in an impressive manner to build her up as a top character in Avengers: Secret Wars.

It's unclear at this point if everyone from Thunderbolts* will end up being involved in the upcoming Avengers projects, but it could be an interesting way to continue their story by blending them in. If Marvel wants to make Thunderbolts* a franchise on its own, then this would be one way of doing that in a similar manner to how the Guardians of the Galaxy have popped up in the past. However, the focus could just end up being on Yelena, which would also make sense as there is a Black Widow-shaped hole in the Avengers lineup now.

Anthony Mackie revealed that his version of Captain America will choose the next Avengers lineup moving forward as a new group has to be created due to the events of Avengers: Endgame. Considering Yelena is a rather new MCU character, she could end up slotting into the new-look Avengers team, with her skills likely providing something different for the group. However, whether she ends up being an Avenger or not, Yelena is set for a bigger MCU future beyond Thunderbolts* with her Avengers: Secret Wars role.

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