It’s obvious why Florence Pugh’s Yelena is in Spider-Man: Brand New Day

According to a new rumor, Florence Pugh will appear as Yelena in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, but don’t expect it to be a big role.

Brand New Day is shaping up to be unlike any Spider-Man movie we’ve seen before. We know Jon Bernthal’s Punisher and Mark Ruffalo’s Hulk will be involved (whether they’re friends, foes, or both remains to be seen), and Marvel has yet to confirm who the main villain will be.

Kevin Feige has already said it will focus on Spidey “dealing with – for lack of a better term – street level crime as opposed to world-ending events.” So, don’t expect more multiversal antics or Andrew Garfield and Tobey Maguire to return.

However, that doesn’t mean it’ll be as stripped back as Sam Raimi’s trilogy, and a new rumor may indicate how it’ll connect to the wider MCU.

Florence Pugh’s Yelena could set up Avengers: Doomsday in Spider-Man: Brand New Day

Marvel Studios

As per insider Daniel Richtman, Pugh has joined the cast of Spider-Man: Brand New Day. It’s unclear if she’ll play a major role in the film or if it’s just a cameo.

The latter is definitely more likely, considering she’s now part of the New Avengers after the events of Thunderbolts. Also, that film ended with a big tease for Doomsday, with the Fantastic Four’s spaceship flying towards Earth.

There are two possibilities. Firstly, Pugh could show up in Brand New Day’s post-credits scene, asking Spider-Man (or perhaps she discovers he’s Peter Parker and corners him in his apartment, making her one of the first people to find out his true identity after the end of No Way Home) to help them with whatever is going down in Doomsday.

Tom Holland talking about wanting to work with Florence Pugh in 2021:

“I think she’s amazing. She’s so good in that movie [Black Widow] and all the movies that she’s done. A really cool Spider-Man / Black Widow movie would be a fun twist.”pic.twitter.com/erIx44aPno

— best of tom holland (@thollandrchive) August 20, 2025

Secondly, it’s worth remembering that the New Avengers aren’t some secret team. They will be out and about saving the world in lieu of the original Avengers, so if the Hulk starts tearing apart Manhattan, someone would likely tip them off.

However, that doesn’t mean the film’s finale will be a mini-Avengers set piece with Spider-Man fighting alongside Yelena, Bucky, and co. It could be in the spirit of Peacemaker Season 1’s ending, with Yelena turning up as the dust settles and wanting to talk to Spider-Man.

“At most Yelena is gonna get a Matt Murdock in No Way Home role. Assuming the rumor is true,” one user wrote, referencing Charlie Cox’s brief appearance.

“Post-credits scene for the New Avenger Initiative, call it,” another fan predicted.

“Extremely tactical move by Marvel. They know this is a $1B movie and by having the general audience become familiar with Yelena/Thunderbolts, her appearance in Doomsday will make it that much better for the audience,” another user speculated.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day hits cinemas on July 31, 2026. Read more about five villains who are reportedly planned for Holland’s next trilogy, who Tramell Tillman should play, and check out our ranking of the MCU movies.