The Handmaid’s Tale’s O-T Fagbenle joins Scarlet Johansson in Black Widow

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

It's taken more time than expected, but Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow is finally getting her very own standalone movie. Scarlett Johansson made her first appearance in the Marvel Cinematic Universe in IRON MAN 2 and went on to feature in THE AVENGERS, CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER, AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON, CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR, AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR, and the upcoming AVENGERS: ENDGAME. The cast for the Black Widow film has slowly been assembling and Deadline reports that O-T Fagbenle is the latest recruit.

Chances are that most of you know O-T Fagbenle as Luke Bankole, the husband of Elisabeth Moss’ Offred and father of her daughter on The Handmaid's Tale. As expected, the exact nature of Fagbenle's character remain under wraps, but Deadline states that it will be a leading role. O-T Fagbenle will join David Harbour (HELLBOY), Florence Pugh (FIGHTING WITH MY FAMILY), Rachel Weisz (THE FAVOURITE), and of course, Scarlett Johansson herself. Cate Shortland (LORE) is directing BLACK WIDOW from a script by Jac Schaeffer (CAPTAIN MARVEL) and the film is slated to kick off production in London this June. In a recent Entertainment Weekly round-table interview with the AVENGERS cast, Scarlett Johansson credited Joss Whedon with fleshing out the character of Black Widow in a major way.

I think [Avengers and Age of Ultron writer-director] Joss [Whedon] was a huge part of that too. He is such a huge believer in strong female characters and story lines. He really celebrated the characters’ flaws and wanted to bring them to light. I say flaws — not really, but what she perceives [flaws] to be. Just having [Whedon’s] support and him wanting to shine a light on that character really made a huge difference.