Who is Taskmaster in Black Widow? All the main theories about his identity

14 January 2020, 19:23

By Katie Louise Smith

From Yelena Belova, Melina Vostokoff and Clint Barton, here are the main theories about the identity of Taskmaster in Black Widow.

The release of Marvel's Black Widow is fast approaching and last night (Jan 13), a new teaser trailer with brand new footage from the film gave us all a closer look at the big new villain Natasha Romanoff is about to face: Taskmaster.

While the initial teaser trailer treated us to the first look at Florence Pugh's Yelena Belova and David Harbour's Red Guardian biceps, this second teaser shows Taskmaster in full force, attempting to bring down Nat.

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There's a bit of discourse on the timeline over Taskmaster's new look (where is his skull helmet?!) but most of the conversation is surrounding who the hell is under the mask? Of course, with details of the film under wraps, the identity of Taskmaster is still a mystery. But fans have theories...

First of all, who is Taskmaster and what are his abilities?

Taskmaster has the "ability to mimic the physical movements of anyone he witnesses" and can "duplicate them without any practice or training, no matter how complex" - which is why he's about to be a big problem for Nat. He's basically a massive dangerous copycat.

In the comics, Taskmaster's name is Tony Masters, and he was born with his abilities. When he joined S.H.I.E.L.D. as an adult, he injected himself with the Super-Soldier serum and began to develop additional powers. Taskmaster is also a master assassin and a master marksman.

In the Black Widow trailer, it's made quite clear that Taskmaster has managed to replicate Hawkeye's, Captain America's and now Nat's abilities and moves. However, the identity of Taskmaster in the film is shrouded in mystery.

Who plays Taskmaster in Black Widow?

The actor playing Taskmaster has not yet been revealed. There are still gaps in the cast list, with Ray Winstone's character and Olivier Richters' role still unannounced, but following the new footage, there are now multiple theories circulating over who could possibly be under the mask – and it might not be a man.

1) Is Melina (Rachel Weisz) Taskmaster?

A very popular theory amongst fans is that Melina Vostokoff is actually Taskmaster – and yes, that bombshell would mean that Taskmaster would be a woman in the MCU.

In the new trailer, however, Melina can be seen fighting Taskmaster, which most likely rules her out completely and puts those long standing rumours to bed. But you never bloody know when it comes to MCU, do you? Could it be a red herring?

2) Is Yelena (Florence Pugh) Taskmaster?

Similarly, there's some theories circling that Yelena is possibly the woman under the mask. As we've already seen in the trailer, she's able to match Nat's fierce combat skills move for move. That's probably because they both trained at the Red Room academy but... what if it's not?

Fans have noted that we don't see Yelena fight Taskmaster in the trailer but with Florence Pugh standing at 5ft 3in, is that really her/meant to be her in the armour?

3) Is Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) Taskmaster?

While it hasn't been confirmed, fans are speculating that Clint Barton will show up at some point during the movie, because part of it takes place in Budapest. Now, there's a very strong possibility that that might happen but as for him being Taskmaster? Some fans think it's Clint, others are absolutely 100% certain that it is definitely not Clint. Same goes for Steve Rogers too. It's not Cap.

4) Is Rick Mason (O-T Fagbenle) Taskmaster?

O-T's character is said to be an ally from Nat's S.H.I.E.L.D. days who is romantically interested in her. He is yet to appear in any of the trailer footage, despite appearing at Comic Con for the announcement. So, could he actually be Taskmaster?

Maybe it's someone we don't know? Maybe it's someone completely new? Maybe it actually is Tony Masters?

Black Widow arrives in theatres on May 1 2020.