We may receive a commission on purchases made from links.

It turns out we could have had a very, very different version of Taskmaster in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, had things gone another way. That's because another actor auditioned for the role, an actor who ended up playing someone else entirely in "Black Widow." The actor in question is O-t Fagbenle, who played the S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Rick Mason in the 2021 film. But before he landed the gig, he nearly became a bad guy for Scarlett Johansson's Natasha Romanoff to duke it out with.

In a recent interview with The Direct, Fagbenle confirmed that he auditioned to play Taskmaster in "Black Widow." Ultimately, the role went to Olga Kurylenko ("Quantum of Solace"). Fagbenle previously confirmed in 2021 that he auditioned for a different character in the Marvel Studios film, but he declined to specify who it was at the time.