The Marvel Cinematic Universe changed the entertainment industry by turning films into long-form sagas, where different individual franchises are all set in the same interconnected universe. This has allowed for a new kind of character development, where actors get to evolve and grow their characters over multiple projects. However, some actors don’t get a long run in the MCU: they only get one-off appearances or short arcs that get clipped short.
In most cases, fans understand why a character only gets a brief run – especially when it comes to villains. However, there have been a few times when Marvel has killed off a character, and it has caused major backlash within the fandom. Now, one actor who arguably had one of the roughest times in the MCU is speaking out about it, and directly addressing the backlash from fans.
Taskmaster: One of the MCU’s Biggest Mistakes
The Cast of Thunderbolts / Marvel Studios
Olga Kurylenko is an actress best known for mixing beauty with action in films like Vin Diesel’s xXx, the James Bond film Quantum of Solace, and the video game adaptation Hitman (2007). So it was a genuine twist (on multiple levels) when Marvel Studios chose to keep Kurylenko’s face and identity hidden from the public until the climactic act of Scarlett Johansson’s Black Widow solo movie. Kurylenko was revealed to be a gender-flipped version of the masked villain Taskmaster, with a completely reworked origin story that made her “Antonia Dreykov,” the daughter of General Dreykov (Ray Winstone), the Soviet commander who pioneered the modern Black Widow program and ran its headquarters, the Red Room.
While the MCU version of Taskmaster made sense within the lore of the franchise (Natasha Romanoff long believed that she had accidentally killed Dreykov’s daughter), it was a complete deviation from Marvel Comics lore. Marvel Studios also underestimated the cult following Taskmaster has among fans: the villain has long been a staple of the comics, where he serves as a trainer of henchmen for various evil organizations across the Marvel Universe. Taskmaster (aka Anthony “Tony” Masters) is also depicted as a very lively and charismatic villain (a Bronx New Yorker), in contrast to the robotic mind-slave Black Widow. For a moment, it seemed Marvel Studios had heard fan complaints and were set to give Taskmaster a proper chance to establish herself as a character, in the anti-hero teamup film, Thunderbolts*. Instead, Marvel doubled down on using Taskmaster as a red herring: despite digitally-altered scenes created for trailers and prominent placement in the marketing and promotional materials, Kurylenko’s Taskmaster is killed off in the very first sequence where the Thunderbolts team members meet.
Taskmaster Actress Addresses Fan Backlash to Her MCU Arc
Olga Kurylenko as Taskmaster in Black Widow / Marvel Studios
Needless to say, the backlash to seeing Taskmaster get done dirty, twice, has been… significant. There’s even been a “#JusticeForTaskMaster” social media campaign that’s been started – although the exact nature of the demands (for Kurylenko’s version to get another chance, or the character to be rebooted entirely…) is a bit muddled. For her part, Olga Kurylenko is grateful for the support she’s gotten and didn’t mind expressing as much to ComicBook Movie while doing an interview for her new film, Misdirection:
“It means a lot and touches my heart. I’m very grateful,” Kurylenko said. “I didn’t expect such a following or the fight they’re putting on. It’s really sweet of them.”
Not one to let the fires of fandom burn unattended, Kurylenko did reveal that she’s taken an active hand in the #JusticeForTaskMaster outcry: “I’ve actually communicated with the guy who started this whole movement—he was posting on Instagram. I ended up answering him, and we’re directly in touch now,” Kurylenko explained. “I thanked him for his support. I just thought it was really kind.”
In terms of fan-driven campaigns, it doesn’t seem like #JusticeForTaskMaster has a bright future. The upcoming event films Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars will give Marvel Studios the chance to soft-reboot the entire MCU, incorporating new characters (the X-Men), recasting major veteran characters, or passing on mantles (Iron Man? Thor?), and giving some established characters a remake. There are likely more fans who want to see a comic-accurate Taskmaster as one of those character remakes, and likely without any tethers to the dicey version Kurylenko had to play. And as unfair as it is, the actress will likely never get the true respect she deserves for the role she played – nor the arc she could’ve played, given the chance.
The MCU gets it right, a lot, but Taskmaster is going to remain one of its biggest dropped balls. If you want to discuss the character, hit the ComicBook Forum! If you want to rewatch the arc in Black Widow and Thunderbolts*, they’re streaming on Disney+.