Florence Pugh Reveals the One Horror Movie She Wishes She Never Made

Florence Pugh does not do PR-speak. She just went on Louis Theroux's podcast and named the one project she wishes she could take back: Netflix's 2018 horror Malevolent. If you ever suspected that early-career paycheck gigs are real, well, here we are.

The regret: Netflix's Malevolent

Pugh was blunt about why she signed on and how it turned out. She says she was younger, needed the money, thought it would be great, and then showed up to find... it was not.

"It is probably the one movie that I wish I never did."

For context: Malevolent pairs Pugh with Ben Lloyd-Hughes as sibling con artists who fake hauntings for cash, until one job starts looking uncomfortably real. It debuted on Netflix in 2018, drew mixed reviews, and currently sits at 54% with critics on Rotten Tomatoes — and a brutal 18% with audiences. A speed bump, clearly, because the very next year she came roaring back with Fighting With My Family, Midsommar, and Little Women.

Midsommar messed her up (in the way Ari Aster movies tend to)

Pugh also talked about the toll of Midsommar, where she plays a grieving woman swallowed up by a Swedish cult. She says she had never tackled anything like it and basically put herself through hell to get there. Her words: it "really fucked me up." Not exactly surprising if you have seen that movie — still, it is striking to hear her say it out loud.

What she is doing next

Here is the wild scheduling twist: her next two giant franchises are, for now, dated to open on the exact same day. Both Avengers: Doomsday and Dune: Part Three are currently set for December 18, 2026. That is one way to stress-test moviegoing calendars.

• Avengers: Doomsday: Pugh is back as Yelena Belova, following Thunderbolts*.
• Dune: Part Three: She returns as Princess Irulan.

Release dates move all the time, but as it stands, Florence Pugh is lined up to headline two massive films on the same weekend. From regretting Malevolent to that? Not a bad arc.