Black Widow Star Compares Character to James Bond's Q

Black Widow's O-T Fagbenle teases his mysterious character Mason by comparing him to James Bond's Q. Natasha Romanoff's (Scarlett Johansson) long-awaited solo movie will finally arrive in theaters and on Disney+ in July. Black Widow was supposed to kick off the MCU's Phase 4 last year, but the pandemic delayed it multiple times. At long last, though, audiences will finally get answers to all their questions about Natasha's past as she revisits her assassin roots in her quest to take down the Red Room that trained her. She'll be joined by members of her Russian spy family, which includes Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh), Melina Vostokoff (Rachel Weisz), and Alexei Shostakov (David Harbour).

If Black Widow has so far put the focus on Natasha and her former family in its promotional efforts, it has entirely avoided revealing anything about Fagbenle's Mason. Little is known about him, save for his ties to Natasha that might be romantic. In fact, the first look at Mason came from a Black Widow book as opposed to a trailer. With Black Widow still about a month away, it seems likely that there won't be much more uncovered about Mason until the movie arrives. Luckily, Fagbenle has provided a new tease.

While talking to The Playlist recently, Fagbenle revealed a bit more about Mason, at least when it comes to his use to Natasha. As Fagbenle said, Mason isn't that dissimilar to Q from the James Bond movies. At the same time, he once again teased there might be more to his relationship with Nat. Fagbenle explained:

“I play this character called Mason. It’s really cool, actually, because you know you get those characters, like in James Bond you’ve got Q, and in Batman, I guess, you’ve got Alfred, and in some ways, I think Mason is that person who helps facilitate Black Widow’s missions with all the cool shit that she needs. But very much unlike Q and Alfred, there’s a kind of energy between them that you pick up. Like, ‘Is it all business, or is it not?’ So there’s something really fun about that; that kind of dynamic between the two characters. I hesitate to say that he’s a little fun. It’s quite a fun character, although you might get a sense he’s got a dark side. But yeah, I can’t say too much.”

The lack of information about Mason has led many to speculate he's actually Taskmaster, the equally mysterious villain at the center of Black Widow. Taskmaster's identity is being kept a secret in the lead up to the movie, to the point where the actor behind the mask hasn't even been revealed. Fagbenle has so far remained mum on whether there's any truth to this theory, though his comment about Mason potentially having a dark side could support it. It does feel quite suspicious that little about Mason has been revealed, just like Taskmaster.

Black Widow will soon pull back the curtain on both Mason and Taskmaster. The working partnership between Mason and Natasha sounds interesting because it means Nat will have some exciting new gadgets for her mission. Audiences have been waiting a long time for Natasha to get her own solo adventure, and it's exciting to know the wait for Black Widow is truly almost over. There are still a lot of questions that need to be answered, but they won't go untouched for much longer.

More: Black Widow: Everything We Know About Taskmaster’s Real Identity

Source: The Playlist