Marvel Studios is reportedly bringing Deathlok to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Back in the 1990s, Marvel had a script that was nearly ready to go, but the studio is not the powerhouse that it is today and it was considered to be a hard sell. Over time, the project fell by the wayside, but fans were still patiently waiting for the character to show up at some point. And he did. ABC’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. featured Deathlok played by actor J. August Richards.
According to sources, Deathlok is going to make his way to the MCU. However, it is unclear in what capacity. It could be a solo movie, but there have been whispers that he might show up as the villain in the upcoming Black Widow standalone movie. With that being said, it has been rumored that Taskmaster is going to be the main antagonist in the long awaited project. As is the case with nearly every Marvel Studios project, details are being kept under wraps for the time being.
If Deathlok shows up in Black Widow, we should know soon since the movie is reportedly aiming for a production start this summer. Casting is currently underway. The villain is a fan-favorite who was created in a lab to be a killing machine and was first introduced in Astonishing Tales No. 25 in 1974 and created by Rich Buckler and Doug Moench. The character has been retooled a number of times over the years, which means that Marvel Studios can pretty much do whatever they want with him in terms of look and feel, along with the actor chosen to play him. He won’t necessarily have to be the version that was introduced in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
The most popular take on Deathlok is the Colonel Luther Manning version. He is a Detroit native, who was killed in a brutal battle. His corpse is later reanimated in post-apocalyptic future for total domination on the battlefield. His story arc is pretty dark and could be seen as a gamble for the MCU since they haven’t gone that gritty just yet. However, with the Fox acquisition now over with, the studio may be looking to branch out further into that realm, especially with the success of the Deadpool franchise.
There’s a chance that Deathlok might not end up on the MCU. He could find himself in one of the R-rated projects that will end up under another banner by Disney. Regardless, this news should make some hardcore Marvel Comics fans pretty excited. It’s a pretty good time to be a comic book fan with DC and Marvel out making quality projects and extending those stories. The MCU is about to undergo some major changes with the introduction of Phase 4 this summer and DC is currently stepping away from the shared universe aspect. The Deathlok news was first reported by Deadline.
