Ray Winstone's character in Black Widow has been revealed, and he has ties to The Avengers. Scarlett Johansson's super spy is finally getting a chance to lead a Marvel Cinematic Universe movie. She has been a fan-favorite character going all the way back to her debut in Iron Man 2, but Black Widow will be the first time that she is the star. Since the end of Black Widow's journey has already been told in Avengers: Endgame though, the solo film will explore various points in Natasha Romanoff's past.

The majority of Black Widow is set between Captain America: Civil War and Avengers: Infinity War, as Nat is on the run after breaking the Sokovia Accords. This leads her back to her Russian family and allows the movie to introduce audiences to Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh), Red Guardian (David Harbour), and Iron Maiden (Rachel Weisz). The quartet of Marvel characters will work together to take down the Red Room for good, and many have anticipated this will give Black Widow the opportunity to flesh out Nat's pre-hero days. Now, we know this will include the debut of a character mentioned in The Avengers.

Related: Black Widow Has A Secret Iron Man 3 Villain Connection

In the latest issue of Empire Magazine that has Johansson on the cover, the issue's Black Widow spread provided new details on the movie. As shared by Marvel Studios News, this includes the identity of Ray Winstone's character. The veteran actor will play Dreykov, the head of the Red Room. Although this is not a character the MCU has featured before, he was mentioned in The Avengers as Loki referenced "Dreykov's daughter" while reciting reasons Natasha has a red ledger.

Dreykov appearing in Black Widow is now one clear example of Marvel Studios tying up some loose ends of Natasha's story. This reference in The Avengers has gone unresolved for eight years and even was the source of some confusion after Avengers: Endgame included Red Skull telling Nat that her father's name was Ivan. Instead, it clarified that Loki was referring to Nat's red ledger has something to do with Dreykov's actual daughter. Now that Dreykov is confirmed to be involved in Black Widow, fans will undoubtedly begin to wonder if Loki's other taunts - what happened in São Paolo and the children's fire - will be addressed as well.

To this point, Black Widow hasn't provided too much context for Dreykov's role in the film. The trailers only showed him from behind in one shot where he is talking to Iron Maiden. But, that might be because he doesn't have a large role in the film, especially since the most recent trailer for the film revealed Taskmaster was the one in charge of the Red Room now. Unless Dreykov is Taskmaster (which seems unlikely), then it is possible that he won't be alive for most of the movie. Now that Black Widow has been indefinitely delayed because of coronavirus, though, it's unclear when we'll finally be able to see the film and learn more.

MORE: What Black Widow's Movie Delay Means For Marvel Phase 4

Source: Empire Magazine [via Marvel Studios News]

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