Thunderbolts* Co-Writer Reveals Yelena’s Cut Scene About Hawkeye Cameo

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Thunderbolts* Co-Writer Reveals Yelena’s Cut Scene About Hawkeye Cameo

Thunderbolts* co-screenwriter Eric Pearson revealed during a new interview that one of the earlier drafts of the script depicted the aftermath of Florence Pugh’s Yelena Belova confronting Jeremy Renner’s Clint Barton in the Disney+ Hawkeye series.

Notably, in the post-credits scene of Black Widow (2021), Julia Louis-Dreyfus’ Valentina Allegra de Fontaine blames Barton for the death of Scarlett Johansson’s Natasha Romanoff and assigns Yelena to kill him. However, in Hawkeye, following a brutal confrontation, Yelena learns from Barton what really happened to Natasha and abandons her mission.

Eric Pearson reveals Thunderbolts* cut scene about Yelena and Hawkeye’s fight

Eric Pearson disclosed during a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter that an earlier draft of Thunderbolts* included a scene in which Yelena questions Val about why the former was tasked to kill Barton.

“Early drafts began with Yelena confronting Valentina about ordering the Clint Barton hit, which was one of my favorite scenes that eventually became not entirely relevant to the Thunderbolts* story,” Pearson explained. He added that he loved the scene because it underscored Val’s manipulative nature.

According to the screenwriter, the scene involved Yelena demanding to know why the other woman set her up to kill her sister’s “best friend.” This would have prompted Val to accept the accusations but underplay them. She would have even said, “So I heard some bad gossip, pardon me for trying to motivate you. But this is your job, and asking questions isn’t a part of it.”

Pearson mentioned that this interaction would have culminated in Yelena admitting how “unhappy” she was with her circumstances and voicing the desire to do “something more constructive.”

This last part is in the movie, though it unfolds differently. After accepting a mission, Yelena asks Val for a “public facing” role. Although Val accepts, it is later revealed that she was planning to have Yelena and her other clandestine operatives kill each other.

Thunderbolts* is currently in theaters.