In Black Widow, we were introduced to Rick Mason, a former S.H.I.E.L.D. agent who proved himself a reliable source of intel and weaponry for Natasha Romanoff. Her death in Avengers: Endgame has closed the door on any future team-ups, of course, but there's no reason he couldn't be on hand to help some of the Marvel Cinematic Universe's other superheroes.
While it's possible his character could be a one-and-done (those Taskmaster theories never went anywhere), actor O-T Fagbenle made it clear that he is open to a return in an interview with Slash Film.
"I mean, you know what, with Marvel, I'm never sure how much they can say about stuff, but I'll just say that it wasn't a one-and-done conversation," he told the site, seemingly confirming that we'll see more of Mason in the not too distant future. Armor Wars is one possibility given his penchant for getting his hands on technology he shouldn't have, while he's also a likely potential ally to someone like Yelena Belova.
When the site asked if Fagbenle took a deep dive into Mason's comic book history to prepare for what might follow Black Widow, he responded, "I mean, to be honest, I did start to do all of that. I had conversations with Eric [Pearson], who wrote 'Black Widow,' who's become a friend of mine, he's a genius and a beautiful person. In our conversations, in some ways I feel like this incarnation of Mason is an Eric creation."
"So although I did have a little peek at the original," the actor continued, "I very soon just became focused on what Eric created for 'Black Widow.'"
Hawkeye is the first Marvel Studios project to tie directly into Black Widow, so even though the latter was a "prequel" set between the events of Captain America: Civil War and Avengers: Infinity War, it's had an impact on the wider MCU. Mason has potential, anyway, so fingers crossed we see him again soon.
What are your hopes for his future?