While Natasha Romanoff will be squaring off with Taskmaster in Black Widow, there's going to be a bigger villain looming in the background of the upcoming Marvel Studios movie. The mysterious Dreykov will be played by British acting legend Ray Winstone, and he's the man in charge of the Red Room.
If we were to hazard a guess, it seems likely he'll be the one pulling Taskmaster's strings as he looks to bring Natasha and Yelena Belova back under his (and Russia's?) control.
In the Black Widow: The Official Movie Special Book (which is now on sale from Titan Books), Winstone was asked who Dreykov is, and said, "He's a guy who came out of old Russia after the breakdown of communism. He really wanted to change something and wanted to protect his nation."
"I think he was a man who started off with great intentions, but like most great men who are put into a situation, the greed and the power takes over. The Black Widow program is his. The Widows are part of his team. They're his ninjas."
So, he's definitely in charge of the Red Room, but what connection does he have with Russia's version of Captain America, Red Guardian?
"The Red Guardian was created as a Captain America, but a Russian version. He's a big powerful dude, who certainly started off believing in Russia. So, if America is making a bomb, then Russia has got to make a bigger bomb. Well, you have Captain America, who's quite a good-looking guy. And he's got all the gear."
"So Russia has got to create something that they feel is better than him. Red Guardian is very loyal to Dreykov," the actor teased.
These comments are definitely intriguing, and it sounds like Winstone's character is a mastermind of sorts, and probably the real big bad of Black Widow. If Red Guardian is that loyal to Dreykov, though, can he really be trusted when he reunites with Natasha? We'll have to wait and see.