Jolie in 'Eternals', Ali as 'Blade' highlight Marvel's star-studded slate

SAN DIEGO - Reuters

Walt Disney Co's Marvel Studios on July 20 unveiled a star-packed slate of superhero films for the next two years that includes Angelina Jolie in "The Eternals," Mahershala Ali in a remake of "Blade" and Natalie Portman as a female "Thor."

The announcements at San Diego Comic-Con charts Marvel's course following mega-blockbuster "Avengers: Endgame," which Disney said was set to top 2009 film "Avatar" as the highest-grossing movie of all time.

Jolie appeared on stage in front of 6,500 cheering fans, along with other "Eternals" cast members including Richard Madden, Kumail Nanjiani and Salma Hayek. The story about a group of immortal aliens will debut in November 2020. 

"I'm going to work 10 times harder," Jolie said when asked how she would approach her role of Thena. "We all know what the task is ahead, and we know what you deserve, and so we are all going to be working very hard. So I am in training and thrilled," she added.

Disney also revealed it will release "Thor: Love and Thunder," the fourth "Thor" movie, in November 2021. Portman, who starred in earlier films as the girlfriend to Chris Hemsworth's Thor, will take up the superhero's hammer as a female goddess of thunder.

"It feels pretty good," Portman said on stage. "I've always had a little hammer envy."

Ali, who recently won Oscars for "Moonlight" and "Green Book," surprised the audience by walking on stage and putting on a baseball hat with the logo for "Blade," a character played on film in 1998 by Wesley Snipes. No details were given but the crowed erupted in applause.

The films will be part of Phase 4 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) that started with 2008's "Iron Man" and has generated more than $22 billion at box offices worldwide.

Other coming movies include "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness," which director Scott Derrickson described as "the first scary MCU movie," and "Shang-Chi and The Legend of the Ten Rings" starring Chinese actor Tony Leung, Awkwafina and newcomer Simu Liu, who said he was just cast in the lead role on Tuesday.

Scarlett Johansson introduced an action-heavy trailer for "Black Widow." In an interview, the actress said having a stand-alone film for the "Avengers" character was "mind-blowing."