Florence Pugh says she upset ‘so many people’ over career decision

Actor had received critical praise from indie films including ‘Midsommar’ and ‘Lady Macbeth’ when she signed on for a major blockbuster

Florence Pugh said her transition into the Marvel Cinematic Universe was not well-received by those in the indie film world.

The 27-year-old, whose claim to fame came from her lead roles in popular indie films such as Lady Macbeth (2016), Midsommar (2019) and The Wonder (2022), made her MCU debut as Russian assassin and spy Yelena Belova in Black Widow (2021).

She later reprised the role in Disney Plus’s Hawkeye miniseries and again in Marvel’s 2024 title Thunderbolts.

Yet she admits that not all of her fans were impressed with her choice to work in more mainstream properties.

“So many people in the indie film world were really p***ed off at me. They were like, ‘Great, now she’s gone forever,’” Pugh told Time magazine.

“And I’m like, no, I’m working as hard as I used to work. I’ve always done back-to-back movies. It’s just people are watching them now. You just have to be a bit more organised with your schedule.”

Since joining the superhero franchise, she’s still maintained a strong presence in independent filmmaking.

In fact, her most recent movie role was fronting Zach Braff’s drama A Good Person opposite Morgan Freeman.

Florence Pugh (Getty Images and Disney+)

Pugh plays Allison, a young woman whose world comes crumbling down after surviving an unimaginable tragedy. In the years following, she develops an unlikely friendship with her would-be father-in-law (Freeman) that offers her a fighting chance to move forward.

You can read The Independent’s two-star review of the movie here.

Up next, she can be seen in Christopher Nolan’s highly anticipated Oppenheimer, starring Cillian Murphy as J Robert Oppenheimer, the physicist responsible for leading the creation of the atomic bomb during World War II.

Emily Blunt and Robert Downey Jr also star, as well as Matthew Modine, Rami Malek, Kenneth Branagh, Dane DeHaan, Benny Safdie, David Krumholtz, Jack Quaid and Alden Ehrenreich.

Oppenheimer premieres in cinemas on 21 July.

Then, Pugh will join director Denis Villeneuve’s Dune: Part Two as Princess Corrino. The “epic” trailer, released earlier this month, gave a glimpse at Pugh’s character, along with fellow newcomer Austin Butler, who underwent a radical transformation for the part.