Last night, Marvel Studios broke their silence on what’s coming our way in Phase 4, revealing their game plan for the next two years of superhero cinema and television. And in an announcement that probably shocked very few people, it turns out that the MCU’s new era will get underway with the long-awaited Black Widow solo film.
Yes, as you may’ve heard already, Scarlett Johansson’s standalone outing will hit theaters on May 1st, 2020, which gives us nine-plus months to continue to speculate on the Cate Shortland-helmed movie. Of course, thanks to the various set photos that we’ve seen, we already know a fair bit about it, including who the villain will be.
That role goes to Taskmaster, and though all we’ve seen of him is those aforementioned set pics, Marvel Studios Director of Visual Development Andy Park has now revealed our first proper look at the character. It’s not a live-action shot unfortunately, but rather a keyframe illustration depicting how he’ll appear in Black Widow, and we’ve gotta say, he looks awesome.
For those unfamiliar with Taskmaster, he debuted in the comics in 1980, in Avengers #195 and #196. Real name Tony Masters, he’s got an incredible photographic memory, which means he can memorize his opponent’s fighting techniques and use them against his enemies. As such, we imagine Black Widow might have her work cut out for her in the upcoming film.
What’s also interesting to note about the pic is that reports indicate that it’ll actually be set after the events of Captain America: Civil War, and will show us what happened to Natasha Romanoff after she decided to let Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes go off on their mission.
It’s a curious angle for Black Widow to take, but Kevin Feige has already told us that there’s “a method to the madness.” And we’ll find out just what he means when the pic shoots its way into theaters on May 1st, 2020.