Florence Pugh Fought Marvel to Jump Off the World’s Second Tallest Building for ‘Thunderbolts’

Florence Pugh wasn’t about to let Marvel’s insurance policy stop her from throwing herself off a skyscraper.

While filming Thunderbolts, Pugh’s Yelena Belova was originally scripted to jump off the Merdeka 118 in Kuala Lumpur — the second tallest building in the world, standing at a dizzying 2,722 feet. But as production got closer, Marvel began backpedaling. The studio worried it would be too much of an insurance nightmare to let her do it herself. Pugh’s response? Total rebellion.

“I was like, what the fuck? Of course we are!” Pugh said. “We have to do that.” She flooded Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige’s inbox with emails pushing to make the jump happen. She pitched it as a press tour goldmine: record-breaking stunts, women doing the impossible, and headlines that write themselves. Eventually, the studio gave in.

Marvel worked it out. Pugh got her wish. She suited up, strapped in, and hurled herself off a literal giant. No green screen. No cheat shots. Just Florence Pugh and an insane leap of faith.

And the moment wasn’t just about the spectacle. It pushed her to her limits. “The mental control I had to do that day was its own superpower,” she said. When it was over, she passed out for three hours — the adrenaline had completely wiped her out.

Pugh’s now in rare company. Not many actors have pulled off skyscraper stunts like this. Tom Cruise still holds the title for the tallest — scaling the Burj Khalifa for Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol — but Pugh’s Merdeka moment now sits right alongside it.

Thunderbolts stars Pugh alongside Sebastian Stan, David Harbour, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, and others. It hits theaters May 2. And this time, when Yelena jumps? You’ll know that’s not a stunt double. That’s Florence. All the way down.