We have some brand new art for the recently announcedBlack Widowmovie, which offers our first official look at the villain Taskmaster. Marvel Studios returned to San Diego Comic-Con this year after skipping out in 2018, and they didnotdisappoint. They revealed their entire Phase 4 slate, which will include, at long last, a solo movie for Scarlett Johansson’s Natasha Romanoff. This official Comic-Con art gives us a peek at the villain she’s going to be going up against in her first solo MCU adventure.
The art was revealed following the Marvel StudiosSDCCpanel by artist Andy Park. It seesBlack Widowduking it out with Taskmaster, who is decked out in blue and orange armor, hood up and shield out. The illustration looks very faithful to the character from the pages of Marvel Comics, save for the lack of the arguably excessive cape and outdated white underwear. Park had this to say in the caption provided with the photo.
“Check out this 1st reveal of the keyframe illustration I did for the Black Widow film… & Taskmaster!!!”
It still hasn’t been made clear who is going to be under that armor, but the villain was revealed in a clip that was shown to the crowd at the panel. For those who may not be familiar,Taskmasterfirst appeared briefly inThe Avengers#195, before being fully introduced in the following issue. The villain is the alter ego of Tony Masters. Taskmaster is a master in the art of hand-to-hand combat with genius intellect, in addition to being a great swordsman and archer.
Aside from Scarlett Johansson, the cast also includes Rachel Weisz (The Favourite) as Malena, David Harbour (Stranger Things) as Alexi, O.T. Fagbenle (The Handmaid’s Tale) as Mason andFlorence Pugh(Midsommar) as Yelena Belova. During the panel, Johansson explained that she didn’t feel she could have played this version of the character earlier on in her career in the MCU, which started way back withIron Man 2. Here’s what she had to say.
“I don’t think I could have played this iteration of Natasha 10 years ago. It would’ve been a very different film. I get to play Natasha as a fully realized woman and in all of her many facets. I’m excited for fans to see the flawed side of her, what she perceives to be the flawed side of her. And I’m looking to wipe out some of that red in my ledger, so you guys will be seeing a lot of that.”
Cate Shortland(Lore) is in the director’s chair. The movie will be set after the events ofCaptain America: Civil War. Additionally, Budapest will be a prominent setting, which should finally offer some resolution to that line Hawkeye uttered to Natasha inThe Avengersall those years ago.Black Widowis set to arrive in theaters on August 16, 2025. Be sure to check out the art fromAndy Park’s Twitteraccount below.
