In Thunderbolts*, Yelena Belova decided she wanted to take a crack at being a superhero like her sister, Natasha Romanoff. She eventually gets that chance as a member of the New Avengers.
However, as the credits made clear, the public has mixed feelings about this superhero team. Plus, despite them being the official Government-backed Avengers, Sam Wilson has sued them for using the "Avengers" name after assembling his own group of heroes at the behest of disgraced U.S. President Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross.
The expectation is that Avengers: Doomsday will feature as many as three Avengers teams: The Avengers, the New Avengers, and the Young Avengers (who will likely be named the Champions).
Now, though, a rumour shared by scooper Daniel Richtman suggests a defection could happen. He claims that "Yelena is actually part of Sam's Avengers team in Doomsday."
No additional context was provided, so we have no idea what leads to Yelena joining Captain America's team. It could be that her fellow New Avengers are dragged off into the Multiverse without her. Or if we're being really pessimistic, that they're killed by Doctor Doom, and the Black Widow is the only survivor.
We'll have to wait and see, but small bits of intel like this will probably continue being drip-fed to us over the coming months as production on Avengers: Doomsday continues. Without context, these breadcrumbs are a little confusing, but still undeniably intriguing.
"100%!" Pugh recently said after being asked if she freaked out after seeing the Avengers: Doomsday cast reveal. "Oh, god, there’s too many people in it [to choose]! Pedro Pascal, obviously, always and forever. Paul Rudd, yes, so funny. Genuinely, the idea that all of those people are going to be in the same movie is nutso sauce."
As for how she thinks Yelena is dealing with her now "front-facing" role in the MCU, Pugh added, "I hope that she’s happy now. I hope that she feels fulfilled, like she has purpose. And I hope that we get to see some of her light and her charm and her color again, because I loved playing that before."
Avengers: Doomsday stars Chris Hemsworth, Anthony Mackie, Winston Duke, Tom Hiddleston, Sebastian Stan, Letitia Wright, Paul Rudd, and Robert Downey Jr. Wyatt Russell, Simu Liu, Tenoch Huerta Mejia, Florence Pugh, Danny Ramirez, David Harbour, Hannah John-Kamen, and Lewis Pullman all make the Avengers franchise debuts in the movie.
So do The Fantastic Four: First Steps leads Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, and Joseph Quinn, with X-Men franchise stars Kelsey Grammer, Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Alan Cumming, Rebecca Romijn, James Marsden, and Channing Tatum set to join them.
Avengers: Doomsday is set to be released on May 1 2026, with Avengers: Secret Wars scheduled to arrive on May 7, 2027.