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It turns out we could have had a very, very different version of Taskmaster in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, had things gone another way. That’s because another actor auditioned for the role, an actor who ended up playing someone else entirely in “Black Widow.” The actor in question is O-T Fagbenle, who played the S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Rick Mason in the 2021 film. But before he landed the gig, he nearly became a bad guy for Scarlett Johansson’s Natasha Romanoff to duke it out with.
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In a recent interview with The Direct, Fagbenle confirmed that he auditioned to play Taskmaster in “Black Widow.” Ultimately, the role went to Olga Kurylenko (“Quantum of Solace”). Fagbenle previously confirmed in 2021 that he auditioned for a different character in the Marvel Studios film, but he declined to specify who it was at the time. Now, he’s pulling back the curtain on what went down behind the scenes. Here’s what he had to say about it:
“I first auditioned for Taskmaster, and it was this, it was a really incredible speech, actually. It was an audition I was very proud of. I’ve still got it in the back someplace. And, he was this — I made him with an African accent, and he was this kind of maniacal-like character.”
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It took a long time for the “Black Widow” film to come together, with different iterations of the script being put together throughout the development process. So it’s not just that a different actor nearly played the part. As Fagbenle tells it, this would have been a different take on the character altogether.
“I basically got [told] that [the role] was down to like, ‘Is it me or is it someone else.’ That kind of thing for that version of Taskmaster. And in the various iterations of the movie, that version of Taskmaster went away, and then they just came to me and was like, ‘Hey, there is this character called Mason, do you want to play Mason?’… So I was like, ‘Hell yeah,’ I’d love to play Mason!’ And so, the Taskmaster that I was going to be didn’t exist in that iteration of ‘Black Widow.'”
O-T Fagbenle is ready and waiting to return to the MCU
While mileage is going to vary from person to person, the version of Taskmaster we got is not particularly well regarded in terms of MCU villains, in the grand scheme of things. The character is known for emulating enemies with precision. There is a strong feeling that the version played by Kurylenko was wasted, somewhat.
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Not to get into spoiler territory here, but her recent appearance in “Thunderbolts” did little to help matters. There’s no need to go back in time and wonder whether or not Marvel made the right choice. Looking towards the future, Fagbenle revealed that he’s ready to pull the character he created for his Taskmaster audition out at some point in the future, even if it’s not for a Marvel movie:
“The character I created for that was something I’ve not done before, or something people have not seen me do before. I was being really hyped. But anyway, there’ll be another opportunity for me to pull that maniac out of the bag and put it on screen.”
Who knows what the future holds? The MCU’s Multiverse Saga has offered ample opportunity to see different versions of the same characters on screen. And if the MCU gets a soft reboot after “Secret Wars,” familiar characters could get new leases on life. Taskmaster may very well be brought to life again down the line. It doesn’t seem likely that it would be Fagbenle behind the mask, but stranger things have happened. The actor concluded by making it clear that he’s ready to return to the MCU, most likely as Rick Mason, whenever the call comes through.
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“Listen, this what I said to Eric [Pearson], I said, ‘Why are you leaving me out of ‘Thunderbolts,’ man? I did come back. I did some ‘Secret Invasion,’ Mason appeared there. And so, yeah, I mean, like a true superhero, when they give me the call [I’m ready to go].”
You can grab “Black Widow” on 4K, Blu-ray, or DVD from Amazon.
