Even though Black Widow ultimately did not end up releasing in 2020, the cast and crew of the film continue to hype the project at every opportunity. Recently Disney released Marvel Studios’ Black Widow: The Official Movie Special Book, which details interviews with the film’s team and reveals a lot of additional information. Actor O-T Fagbenle, who is playing a new character named “Mason”, revealed some interesting facts regarding his role.
“Mason is a finder for people who aren’t so affiliated with armies, like people who are part of the underworld. He can find anything you need as well. He’s had a relationship doing that work for the Black Widow, and they have a bit of a vibe going on. There’s a sense that there’s more to their relationship than it being purely work-related, so that’s always in the mix.”
In the MCU, despite proving herself an expert at using her womanly attributes to get anything out of men, Natasha Romanoff only has one serious, and somewhat unexpected love interest: Bruce Banner aka The Incredible Hulk. But the relationship between Bruce and Natasha never became anything more than an initial attraction.
Besides, judging from the timeline of the film, Bruce was not even on Earth during the events of Black Widow. That means the field is wide open for another romantic suitor to try his luck with Natasha. But according to Fagbenle, Natasha is more interested in getting things she needs out of him rather than rekindling their previous relationship.
“Mason’s story starts when Natasha is trying to escape, and she needs a place to hide out. So we hang out for a little bit. And then later on, when she gets in trouble, she calls me up again. I help her out with a Chinook. If you need a helicopter, I’m the guy to ask, and then again every time she’s in trouble, she calls me… Mason is the guy that you want on your side if you get into a hard corner. Natasha definitely takes advantage of the opportunities for him to provide certain things- she never really pays with cash and she doesn’t have credit either. She’s always like, ‘Yeah, put it on my tab.’ It’s a pretty long tab by now! I’m a giver.”
It would make sense if Mason and Natasha do not end up getting too serious in Black Widow since the character of Mason found no mention in Avengers: Infinity War, and Endgame, which took place afterward. It seems that once again, Natasha is going to have only herself to rely on emotionally, as she navigates the world she swore she had left behind when she returns to Russia to shut down the program that turned her into an assassin.
Directed by Cate Shortland, Black Widow features Scarlett Johansson as Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow, Florence Pugh as Yelena Belova, David Harbour as Alexei Shostakov/Red Guardian, O-T Fagbenle as Rick Mason, and Rachel Weisz. The film is currently planned to arrive in theaters on May 7, 2021. This news originated at ComicBook.com.