Marvel's 'Black Widow': New Details Revealed on Main Villain

Marvel's Black Widow movie is headed for the production pipeline, giving longtime Marvel Cinematic Universe alum Scarlett Johasson her first solo film to star in. We've recently learned that the Black Widow script is being rewritten by Ned Benson (The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby), and now we're hearing some rumors about the villains that could be featured in this latest version of the story.

THS is reporting that they information that helps to fill in some further details about the Black Widow character breakdowns revealed last fall - specifically, this one: "Marvel is seeking a male with open ethnicity in his 40s to portray the film's villain, who is described only as "exciting.""

Now, the site adds that, "The studio is now looking for either a Black British or African actor, 30-45, to portray a "tough, dangerous and mysterious" villain."

That specified bit of casting information knocks down one big fan theory, which stated Black Widow would be a Russian espionage story, pitting Johansson's Natasha Romanoff against some Marvel Comics Russian villain like Red Guardian, who has a tragic love story connection to Widow and her "Red Room" origin story. There's no specific Marvel villain character who springs to mind based on the description above, there's one theory about who the villain of Black Widow could be that still fits: Taskmaster.

In Marvel's Ultimate Comics Universe (1610) Taskmaster was Tony Masters, an ex-mercenary with the ability to mimic any powers he comes in contact with. He was drawn to look like a black man of middle age, so as stated, it fits with description given above. The original version of Taskmaster had no power absorption abilities; instead, he had "photographic reflexes" which he gained while working for SHIELD, which allowed him to mimic any person's physical movements (no matter how complex) simply by observing them. It wouldn't be surprising if Marvel Studios combined both the traditional and ultimate versions of Taskmaster into one Black Widow villain.

Some Marvel fans will be disappointed to learn that Black Widow will *not* be an R-Rated espionage flick like they were hoping for; however, including a villain like Taskmaster alongside Widow would certainly deliver a Marvel-level action movie, with some badass fight sequences. Sound good to you?

Avengers: Infinity War is now available on home video. Upcoming Marvel Cinematic Universe movies include Captain Marvel on March 8th, Avengers: Endgame on April 26th, and Spider-Man: Far From Homeon July 5th.

-----

Have you subscribed to ComicBook Nation, the official Podcast of ComicBook.com yet? Check it out by clicking here or listen below.

In this latest episode, we talk about the new X-Men: Dark Phoenix trailer, Will Smith breaking up with the Suicide Squad, & so much more! Make sure to subscribe now and never miss an episode!