The actress spoke with ET's Ash Crossan right after Marvel's epic Hall H panel on Saturday.
Marvel was back at San Diego Comic-Con in a major way this year, with an epic Hall H panel that ushered in their Phase 4 slate of films -- confirming several long-rumored projects and introducing a few that took fans totally by surprise!
As one of the longest-tenured members of the MCU, Scarlett Johansson is no stranger to a major Marvel event. However, there was a notable difference between Saturday's panel and the years the actress has spent promoting her role as one of the original Avengers -- this time, there were women standing on stage next to her.
"It was really awesome to be up there,"Johansson raved to ET's Ash Crossan following the panel, which introduced not only the actress' standalone Black Widow film, but also announced Angelina Jolie as an official cast member on The Eternals, shocked fans with the revelation that Natalie Portman will be returning to the Thor franchise as a female God of Thunder, and much more.
"It’s pretty explosive," the actress added of all the powerful characters announced at the panel. "The future is female for Marvel, that’s what it feels like."
And the tide change isn't just obvious to Johansson. Her co-stars are taking note. “Rachel [Weisz, who is also set to star in Black Widow] was going, 'It's so great to work with all these amazing women!'" she recounted of their panel appearance, joking, "And then she looked over and was like, 'Oh yeah, there's a couple guys, too. You guys, also.'"
Weisz told ET that the opportunity to join the MCU in a strong role -- as Melina, a "highly-skilled, trained, spy-assassin" with a knack for science and five cycles in the Red Room under her belt -- was something she found empowering.
“It seems to me that Marvel are really focused on getting really interesting roles made for women, powerful, interesting, complicated women," noted The Favourite star. "So, it’s very exciting."
While some details about the upcoming Black Widow film are still unclear -- like when exactly it takes place or how Johansson's character's death in Avengers: Endgame factors in -- we did get some new clues about the supporting cast in Natasha Romanoff's story. In addition to Weisz's character, Midsommar's Florence Pugh is set to play Yelena Belova --a character who has a "sister" bond with Natasha, though the two are seen in a brutal fight in the panel's teaser footage -- while Handmaid's Tale star O.T. Fagbenle plays a "cheeky" love interest and Stranger Things' David Harbour stars as the Red Guardian, the Soviet Union's answer to Captain America.
"Ten years ago, if you told me that I would be standing in Hall H and presenting this footage to all the fans, it would have seemed incomprehensible," Johansson marveled after the panel. "Especially with this lineup and this incredible cast and [director] Kate Shortland at the helm. It’s an actual dream come true -- very, very exciting."
See more on the movie in the video below!
Black Widow is set to hit theaters on May 1, 2020.
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