SAN DIEGO, July 21 — Walt Disney Co’s Marvel Studios yesterday unveiled a slate of upcoming superhero films that includes The Eternals starring Angelina Jolie, Blade featuring Mahershala Ali, and a Thor sequel with Natalie Portman as a female Thor.
The announcements at San Diego Comic-Con charts Marvel’s course following the April release of mega-blockbuster Avengers: Endgame, which Disney said was set to top 2009 film Avatar by today 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 Kumail Nanjiani and Salma Hayek. The story about a group of immortal aliens is set for release in November 2020.
“I’m going to work 10 times harder,” Jolie said when asked how she would approach the role. “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.”
Disney also revealed it will release Thor: Love and Thunder, the fourth movie in the Thor series, in November 2021. Portman will take up the superhero’s hammer as a female goddess of thunder.
The films are part of Phase 4 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) that started with 2008’s Iron Man.
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 Simu Liu, Awkwafina and Chinese actor Tony Leung.
The presentation ended with a surprise appearance by Ali, who won two Oscars for Moonlight and Green Book. Ali walked on stage and put on a baseball hat with the logo for Blade. — Reuters
