With Joss Whedon’s ‘The Avengers” (or ‘Avengers Assemble’ if you’re one of our readers that live across the big pond) just around the corner, the promotional materials are coming hot and heavy. Just this morning, we posted two new clips featuring Iron Man and a cool snippet with Agent Coulson (Clark Gregg) chatting it up with Captain America (Chris Evans).

Now, via ScreenRant, we have an interview with Mark Ruffalo and Scarlett Johansson who play Bruce Banner and Black Widow respectively.

In the interview, Ruffalo discusses what it is that makes his character of Banner/Hulk so appealing to comic fans and I think he may have nailed it. Hopefully this version of the Hulk comes off better than the last two big-screen incarnations. The CGI does look spectacular but it already looked good when Ed Norton played Banner in the last film. I think it’s more in how the character is handled than how he looks.

Johansson dropped a bit of a bombshell herself when she announced that the Black Widow will not be making an appearance in ‘Iron Man 3’ which is expected to go into production soon after ‘The Avengers’ hits theaters. However, Johansson did give her hopes and suggestions that Black Widow would get her own film that she describes as a “Bourne type of film”.

Ruffalo/Johansson Interview:

I think, based on that interview alone, I’m going to dig the Hulk. As for Black Widow, I know that Scarlett wants a new Black Widow film but that could be wishful thinking since there is word that ‘Avengers’ director Joss Whedon will kill off a major character in his upcoming film. So… maybe Black Widow doesn’t make it through this one alive?

If… and I say IF Black Widow gets her own film, I’d love to see it follow the ‘Homecoming’ storyline from the Marvel Knight’s ‘Black Widow’ series. That one keeps the character away from most of the superhero world, unless you count Nick Fury, so it would fit perfectly with the concept that Johansson has come up with.

What do you think? Are you ready for the latest film version of the Hulk? Do you think Black Widow is a big enough presence to carry her own film? Comment below and let us know.