Black Widow: Set photos reveal Taskmaster may be the movie’s villain

Thanks to yet another batch of on-set photos, the villain of the Black Widow solo movie appears to be Taskmaster, a comic fan favorite.

Coming just off of the heels of the reveal that Yelena Belova, played by Florence Pugh, is rumored to be featured in the upcoming Black Widow solo film, even more about the film’s cast has surfaced.

Thanks to some more photos leaked from the set, it appears that Taskmaster, a fan favorite comic book villain with the ability to mimic the fighting style of his opponents, will be going up against Natasha Romanoff in Black Widow.

The photos, shared by Daniel Richtman on Twitter, show the masked villain jutting out of a tank or some kind of armored vehicle on the streets. In another shot, you can see the villain head-on, parading down the street in his vehicle. While no photos were shared of Natasha facing off against him, there were separate photos that showed Scarlett Johansson on set. The set location hadn’t been revealed in those tweets, but previously, Johansson was spotted filming the first set of scenes in Norway.

As far as new MCU villains go, Taskmaster would fit right in as the perfect street-level villain for the grounded, darker Black Widow movie that fans have been expecting. He’s a master assassin with a photographic memory and genius-level intellect,

Taskmaster has had a long and complicated history in Marvel Comics. Speculation about his involvement in the Marvel Cinematic Universe has existed for years, with many wondering if he would appear in an Avengers movie.

As Taskmaster, Anthony “Tony” Masters has faced off with characters ranging from Captain America and Iron Man to Spider-Man and even Deadpool.

Like many other Marvel villains, his campy costume has been somewhat subdued from the skull mask and white Underoos of the comics to a more militaristic take on the outfit. However, the most notable part of his ensemble, the mask, is still very much present.

Due to the fact that Taskmaster is wearing his signature mask in the photos, it’s difficult to say who exactly will be playing the villain, though some have speculated that David Harbour would be taking on the role after his casting was revealed earlier this year.

Although the photos can’t be taken as total confirmation, the pictures, coupled with months of online speculation, indicate that the chances are pretty high that we’ll get our first glimpses of Taskmaster in the MCU come 2020.

Do you think Taskmaster is really the villain of Black Widow? Will David Harbour be taking on the role, or are you hoping for somebody else? Let us know in the comments below.