BLACK WIDOW Director Cate Shortland On That Big Taskmaster Reveal & Why It Was So Important - SPOILERS

BLACK WIDOW Director Cate Shortland On That Big Taskmaster Reveal & Why It Was So Important - SPOILERS

Fans have been speculating about the identity of Taskmaster for a long time, and the villain was finally unmasked towards the end of Black Widow. Now, director Cate Shortland has discussed the big reveal.

By MarkCassidy - Jul 10, 2021 04:07 AM EST
Filed Under: Black Widow

Black Widow is now playing in theaters and on Disney+ Premiere Access, and after months of speculation, the true identity of the villainous Taskmaster was finally revealed.

If you haven't seen Black Widow yet, major spoilers follow.

Many fans were convinced that O.T. Fagbenle's Mason would ultimately be unveiled as the highly-skilled baddie, but when the character was unmasked towards the end of the movie, we found out that Dreykov's enforcer was actually his own daughter, Antonia, who Natasha believed she had killed many years before.

This was obviously a devastating moment for Romanoff, but it also gave her an opportunity at redemption that she never would have thought possible before. While speaking to Total Film, director Cate Shortland discussed the big reveal and the importance of Taskmaster's identity in relation to Nat's journey.

"What's great in the film is, you see that [Natasha] physically has to face what she's done," she explains. "It's not a fragment [of that]. It's real. And so she's really facing her worst nightmare. I almost see Taskmaster as being her psyche, 'This is what I've done, and it's coming back to get me.' The androgyny of the character is really interesting."

"Natasha is a perpetrator," Shortland continues. "And that's what I love is this ambiguity. She's not Superman. She's done some terrible things. And this is the film where she has to face that. And, what it does is, it allows her to go to Endgame and the sacrifice she makes with resolve because she's had to face all the parts that she's tried to shut down inside her. All the little black boxes, she's had to open them up or Yelena is kicking them open."

The villain being revealed to be Dreykov's daughter has been met with something of a mixed reaction from fans, due in large part to the perception that there wasn't enough focus placed on the character after she was unmasked.

What did you guys make of the twist? Did you see it coming? Drop us a comment down below.

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TMW1987ProudProWrestlingFan
TMW1987ProudProWrestlingFan - 7/10/2021, 4:46 AM
I read the spoiler of this before even going to see the movie & tbh, it works from the story stand point being told.

But I think if you go into this having not read spoilers & you see a certain name pop up in the opening credits, you could have put two & two together of that person being Taskmaster more over O.T. being Taskmaster.

I've had some thoughts / ideas that could maybes even work to get the Taskmaster moniker handed over to Tony Masters somewhere down the line in the future, but for now, this version made sense but it still doesn't have to deny us ever getting Tony.
GhostDog
GhostDog - 7/10/2021, 4:48 AM
Wasn’t a fan of the reveal at all. But Taskmaster’s action scenes were tough
Conquistador
Conquistador - 7/10/2021, 4:48 AM
After 2 viewings It's a solid 7 for me. its in no way perfect, but happy to see the girls getting in on the action.

Only a couple gripes

1. Taskmaster was wasted. Great introduction on the bridge regardless of the gender swap, but was just a robot by the end.

2. With Marvel trying to be more inclusive I find it strange they didn't cast more Russian actors, or at least have alot more dialogue between the family in Russian... I did quite like Pugh and Harbour though.. also, Winstone normally has good screen presence, but he can never mask his thick British accent well enough for me.
hypersonic55
hypersonic55 - 7/10/2021, 5:42 AM
@Jaykay21 - I agree with you 100% I too was hoping for more Russian actors ad Winstone is someone I love in films but that accent was inconsistent and you could hear his regular voice coming through a lot.
jj2112
jj2112 - 7/10/2021, 5:46 AM
@hypersonic55 - Not as bad as Branagh's acting and accent in Tenet though.
Conquistador
Conquistador - 7/10/2021, 5:54 AM
@jj2112 - Na, respectfully disagree, Branagh was miles better in Tenet, maybe a bit of a caricature, but was consistent.
Conquistador
Conquistador - 7/10/2021, 5:58 AM
@hypersonic55 - Yeah I thought he was just normal british at first but then it just sounded off.

Yeah I feel the Russian aspect of the film won't age well for it. we'll see in a couple years if it's still a topic of discussion.
Origame
Origame - 7/10/2021, 6:43 AM
@Jaykay21 - could've very easily just kept classic taskmaster and explain that he wants revenge on Natasha for killing his (or hers so we don't need to debate the gender swapping) father and they want revenge.
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