The villain of Black Widow can provide a connection between the next Marvel movie and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, which is the first Disney+ MCU series. Black Widow’s villain is Taskmaster, though the identity of the actor – or actress – playing the character hasn’t been revealed just yet. In Marvel Comics, Taskmaster is a deadly mercenary known for his ability to learn any skill or technique just by watching a demonstration.

So far, there’s no known link between Black Widow and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, a series which will pick up where Avengers: Endgame left off with Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) accepting the shield and mantle of Captain America from Steve Rogers (Chris Evans). Aside from Sam and Bucky (Sebastian Stan), the series will feature the return of at least two more Captain America characters, Baron Zemo (Daniel Bruhl) and Sharon Carter (Emily VanCamp). A prominent character from Captain America comics, U.S. Agent aka John Walker, will be joining in the action as well, played by Wyatt Russell.

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier can form a link to Black Widow through U.S. Agent and his connection to Taskmaster. In the comic books, Taskmaster plays a role in U.S. Agent’s origin story. After Steve retired as Captain America, John Walker was chosen as his replacement. But in order to be the new Captain America, he had to be more than just a super soldier. Knowing how to properly use Cap’s signature weapon is something that comes with the territory. To make sure Walker could fight with the shield as expertly as Steve Rogers himself, the government brought in Taskmaster and tasked him with training U.S. Agent to use the shield. Taskmaster’s memory powers made him the perfect candidate for this job.

If Taskmaster has the same ability in the MCU, it would make sense for him to fill a similar role in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, even if it doesn’t happen on-screen. After all, it does appear that The Falcon and the Winter Soldier may be using John Walker’s comic book arc by making him the new Captain America. The part that Taskmaster plays in Walker’s journey to becoming the next Sentinel of Liberty could be referenced in some way, or perhaps explored more heavily.

It may not even be necessary for the show to come up with an explanation for Walker’s skill with the shield, but it would still be a neat way to link the series to a more current MCU film. Also, it’s worth noting that Black Widow, being the first movie on Marvel’s Phase 4 slate, is set for a May 2020 release, while The Falcon and the Winter Soldier will launch on Disney+ in late 2020. The proximity between the two MCU projects is one reason why Marvel may want to connect them. There’s also the fact that both Phase 4 releases exist in the same corner of the MCU, which means a link between them makes even more sense.

More: Avengers: Endgame Had A Hidden Reference To Black Widow’s Origin

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