'Black Widow' Star Florence Pugh Says the Film Is 'Very Raw and Very Painful and Very Beautiful'

Florence Pugh believes fans will be very surprised by Marvel's Black Widow.

The 23-year-old actress appeared in the latest installment of Variety's Actors on Actors series, where she dished about her unique experience working with Black Widow lead Scarlett Johansson and the movie's director Cate Shortland.

"It was one of the most bizarre, nuts, extravaganza experiences. Just finished on it about three weeks ago," Pugh told Booksmart star Beanie Feldstein. "The fact that I got to do a film with Scarlett [Johansson] was really magical. The fact that I got to do one of those films with a lead actress and the most beautiful and warm director—Cate Shortland—was a very, very unique and special experience. I don't know what the other films are like and working on them, but I remember being on set many times and thinking, 'I know this isn’t like this, I know this is unique and I have to take this all in.'"

Pugh was tapped to portray Yelena Belova, an assassin who graduated from the Red Room—a covert Soviet facility where Natasha Romanova (Johansson) also received training. Though Pugh didn't provide any details about Black Widow's storyline, she gave an intriguing description of the film's overall tone.

"I think we’ve made something very raw and very painful and very beautiful and I think people are going to be really surprised by the outcome of a big action film and having that much heart," the Midsommar star explained. "And I know lots of people will obviously be emotional about [Johansson] because her character had such a hard ending [in Avengers: Endgame], but it was special learning from her, and she's been doing this for like 10 years in those films. For this to be her film was special. And I got to be there and see how she does stunts and lives it, and it’s so her."

You can watch Pugh and Feldstein's full conversation at Variety's website.

Black Widow, set to hit U.S. theaters on May 1, 2020, also stars David Harbour (Stranger Things), Rachel Weisz (The Favourite), O-T Fagbenle (The Handmaid’s Tale), and Ray Winstone (The Departed).