Black Widow's Taskmaster Tank Was Completely Real & Functional

Taskmaster's tank in Black Widow wasn't created using VFX, but was instead a real, functioning vehicle that could be driven around set. Natasha Romanoff made her return to the big screen in her own prequel story for Black Widow, following her devastating death in Avengers: Endgame. The film's original release was slated for 2020 but was ultimately delayed due to the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, with Black Widow finally making its way to theatres last summer. This did not come without its challenges, however, as Disney's new dual-release model that saw Black Widow make its way onto the Disney+ streaming service on the same day as its theatrical release caused a stir between star Scarlett Johansson and the studio, coming to blows with a lawsuit that was finally settled in September last year.

Black Widow offered a glimpse into the mysterious past of the skilled Avenger who, in confronting her past, came face to face with General Dreykov (played by Ray Winstone), the leader of an organization that works to turn young girls into assassins known as Black Widows. The film saw Midsommar star Florence Pugh make her MCU debut as Natasha's sister, Yelena Belova, with her story continuing on in Disney+'s newest Marvel series, Hawkeye. Black Widow saw the sisters come up against the popular comic-book villain, Taskmaster, whose unique fighting style enables them to mimic the actions of another simply by observing their movements. The sister's first encounter with the masked figure results in an intense car chase in which Taskmaster tears through the streets of Budapest in a tank.

Now, Chris Hammack, the VFX supervisor for Black Widow, has revealed that Taskmaster's tank appears on-screen using almost entirely "practical" effects. Speaking to ComicBook.com, Hammack shared how the team traveled to Budapest and were able to shut down one of the city's main roads in order to film the impressive chase that plays out during the film. Hammack went on to reveal that a CGI tank was created for a few filler scenes, but confirmed that what audiences see in the film's final cut is "mostly practical." Check out Hammack's full quote below.

"It's actually mostly practical, I believe Paul Corbould and his team built three versions of a practical tank that ran with truck racing engines. And it was pretty amazing, and we were able to go to Budapest and close down a relatively major street. And there were 'crash' vehicles out there, that it could run into practically, and basically over and over again. It was pretty amazingly operable, I should say. We did a digital version of it, to fill in shots and do some CG cars for it to run over, do the bigger distraction bits. It was a mixture, but it was mostly practical."

Olga Kurylenko as Antonia Dreykov aka Taskmaster in Black Widow

The VFX supervisor also joked that he tried "very hard" to convince the team to let him drive the tank. However, Hammack then revealed that the tank itself had incredibly limited visibility, which certainly made him hesitant to attempt driving it in a foreign country. Olga Kurylenko, who plays Taskmaster, (after it is is revealed that General Dreykov's daughter, Antonia, is behind the mask) recently revealed that it took multiple stunt doubles to create the character of Taskmaster, so it's fair to say that the team behind Black Widow were certainly keen to use as little CGI as possible when it came to crafting this unique character.

The team's efforts in creating a real tank for the car chase certainly paid off, as the scene makes for one of the more heart-stopping action sequences in Black Widow. Despite having worked to create an authentic character with some awesome armory, some fans ultimately took issue with Black Widow's portrayal of Taskmaster arguing that it wasn't true to the comic-book origins of the character, with Antonia being freed from her father's mind control in the film's final act. As for now, many will likely be wondering what will become of the real-life Taskmaster tank, and whether it could make an on-screen return in the MCU's future.

Next: Black Widow: Why Taskmaster Forgives Natasha

Source: ComicBook.com