Scarlett Johansson gushed that it’s ‘very exciting’ to have Angelina Jolie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).

The actress, 34, shared her delight over news that the 44-year-old will appear in The Eternals with E! News on Sunday, and said ‘it’s about time’ there were more female stars in the sprawling franchise.

Also discussing Salma Hayek and Rachel Weisz’s casting in the MCU, as well as Tessa Thompson and Natalie Portman’s roles, she said: ‘It was amazing. I mean, there’s a lot of women up there that I hugely admire… It’s bananas.

‘I think it’s very exciting. I think it grounds the presence of the MCU in a way. It’s very exciting to see such a diverse group of people. It’s awesome. And it’s about time.’

Angelina and Salma are set to join Richard Madden, Kumail Nanjiani, and Don Lee in The Eternals, which is due out in November 2020.

At the panel dedicated to Marvel during San Diego Comic Con, Angelina said: ‘I’m so excited to be here! I think what it means to be a part of the MCU, what it means to be an Eternal, what it means to be in this family.

‘We’ve all read the script and we know what the task is and so we are going to work very, very hard,’ she added, according to JustJared.

Meanwhile, Rachel will make her debut in the MCU with Black Widow, and said at the event: ‘What’s more exciting than the mythology of Marvel movies?’

Scarlett is set to reprise her role as Natasha Romanoff, aka Black Widow, for a spin-off prequel film after her character met her untimely end in Avengers: Endgame.

During the convention the Avengers star revealed to fans: ‘I don’t think I could have played this iteration of Natasha 10 years ago, it would have been a very different film.’

‘I get to play Natasha as a fully realised woman and in all of her many facets and I’m excited for fans to see the flawed side of her, and I’m looking to wipe out some of that red in my ledger.’

She later told E! News that she was ‘very excited’ and ‘really proud’ of her character’s standalone film, but ‘was nervous’ as they’re ‘in the middle of shooting… So it’s not a time that you could ever share anything with anybody on any side of the movie.’

Other films that have been announced for the MCU includes Shang-Chi: The Legend Of The Ten Rings, Doctor Strange And The Multiverse Of Madness, and Thor: Love And Thunder.

While a number of TV show’s were also officially confirmed for the Disney+ streaming service, including The Falcon And The Winter Soldier, WandaVision, Loki, What If…? and Hawkeye.

SOURCE: dailymail.co.uk