Florence Pugh has revealed that Tom Holland helped set the wheels in motion for Yelena Belova to finally meet Spider-Man, with the actress crediting her Marvel co-star's public endorsement for helping make the unlikely crossover happen.
Pugh, 30, revealed the story during an appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on Monday, 28 September, while discussing her increasingly busy year, which includes Spider-Man: Brand New Day, Avengers: Doomsday, Dune: Part Three and Netflix's East of Eden.
'This all happened because of Tom,' Pugh told Fallon, recalling a moment from the early days of her Marvel career.
Holland Had Pugh's Yelena in Mind From the Start
After Black Widow was released in 2021, Pugh said Holland was asked on the red carpet of a previous movie which superhero he would like to work with in a future film. Rather than choosing one of the more established Marvel heroes, Holland reportedly had another name in mind.
'He said, "No, actually, I want to do it with Florence Pugh, who plays Yelena,"' Pugh recalled.
Florence Pugh says Tom Holland is the reason Yelena Belova appeared in ‘SPIDER-MAN: BRAND NEW DAY’. pic.twitter.com/e2EVi8SxAK
— Avengers Updates (@AvengersUpdated) September 29, 2026
At the time, Pugh's Yelena was still a relatively new addition to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Her first appearance came in Black Widow, where she played the younger adoptive sister of Scarlett Johansson's Natasha Romanoff. She later returned as Yelena in Hawkeye and Thunderbolts, gradually becoming one of the MCU's more prominent new heroes.
According to Pugh, Holland's comment had an immediate effect among fans. 'So because of that, fans were then so excited about the idea of it, and that started the ball rolling,' she said. 'So, thanks to Tom. Thank you, Tom.'
Florence Pugh will return as Yelena Belova in 'Avengers: Secret Wars'
— Complex (@Complex) September 25, 2026
Via @variety pic.twitter.com/OfAVgeKGvf
Holland's interest in the pairing was not entirely theoretical, either. In November 2023, he said he had been 'actively engaging in conversations about what it could potentially look like for a fourth rendition' of Spider-Man. At the time, however, there was no confirmed plan for Yelena to appear in the film.
Pugh Also Wanted Yelena To Meet Spider-Man
Pugh, meanwhile, had her own reasons for wanting the unlikely pairing. During a 2023 interview, she was asked which superhero she would most like Yelena to meet. Her answer was Spider-Man.
'I think they'd be so silly together. It would be so fun, as well,' Pugh said, adding that she had been 'desperate to meet Tom for such a long time.' She also imagined Yelena giving Peter Parker a hard time, saying she could 'take the piss out of him' in a 'really good and healthy way.'
That prediction turned out to be remarkably accurate.
Marvel Finally Made the Crossover Happen
Yelena eventually appeared alongside Holland's Peter Parker in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, which was released on 31 July. Earlier that month, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige had teased that fans might see Yelena 'a little bit sooner' than Avengers: Doomsday, strongly hinting at an appearance before her larger role in the December film.
In the finished movie, Pugh and Holland finally share the screen in a sequence that delivers exactly the odd-couple energy Pugh had imagined years earlier. Peter seeks out Yelena for information, only to discover that her 'office' is a bathhouse. She ultimately makes him get into the bath with her, creating one of the more unexpected encounters between two MCU characters.
Florence Pugh says Tom Holland played a key role in bringing Yelena Belova into ‘SPIDER-MAN: BRAND NEW DAY.’
— Film Scoop (@Film__Scoop) September 29, 2026
“Because of that, fans were so excited about the idea of it, and that started the ball rolling.”
Yelena’s return puts her alongside Spider-Man for the first time,… pic.twitter.com/RxuRPx1fFm
Pugh later joked that she spent much of the day filming the sequence with Holland. 'I was in a bath with Tom all day. I did it!' she said, adding that she did 'a fair bit of riffing' while filming the cameo.
A Five-Year Wait Comes Full Circle
The crossover therefore represents something of a five-year full-circle moment. Holland publicly singled out Pugh shortly after Black Widow introduced Yelena. Pugh later said Spider-Man was the Marvel character she wanted Yelena to meet, and the two finally shared the screen in Brand New Day.
Pugh is set to reprise Yelena again in Avengers: Doomsday, arriving in cinemas on 18 December, where Marvel has confirmed the character will have a significant role.
For now, though, Holland's years-old wish has come true — with Pugh later revealing that the pair's long-awaited MCU crossover involved a bathhouse, plenty of improvisation and a scene she said she had fun riffing on.
