The screen rights to Taskmaster, Marvel’s mimic mercenary, might have reverted to the company that created him, which would allow the skull-faced villain with the photographic reflexes to join the Marvel Cinematic Universe as part of a film or television project.
The live-action “Taskmaster” options that 20th Century Fox once held are no longer at the studio’s disposal, according to Heroic Hollywood, who cite sources with knowledge of the agreements.
The report comes after Tim Miller, the director of Fox’s upcoming “Deadpool” movie, mentioned Taskmaster among those characters he would most like to see the Merc with a Mouth brawl with on film next, with phrasing that suggested the character was not a part of the “Fox family.”
“I’d love to see Deadpool fight Batman,” Miller told Empire while discussing the recent trailer for the upcoming Ryan Reynolds-vehicle. “That’s not even in the Marvel family! I’d love to see Deadpool go up against Taskmaster, who’s another Marvel total **** badass. But if I was to stay inside the Fox family, I would like to see him fight X-23, the female clone of Wolverine.”
It is possible that Miller merely meant that Fox is looking to stay in the X-Men business, but if reports that Fox is no longer the character’s rights-holder are accurate, Marvel would very likely be free to use the colorful comic villain on the large or small screen, upon the reversion of the license.
While Taskmaster has been a regular in “Deadpool” comics, the George Pérez-David Michelinie creation first appeared in the pages of “Avengers,” frequently cropped up in the pages of “Captain America” and “Spider-Man,” and would seem like a particularly appropriate inclusion to Netflix’s budding street-level corner of the MCU.
Reportedly Out at Fox, Is Taskmaster Ready for His Marvel Studios Close-Up?