Angelina Jolie is set to star in new Marvel movie The Eternals and she's hailed the film's 'strong' female leading cast.
The actress, 46, is joined by her co-stars Salma Hayek, Gemma Chan and Lauren Ridloff, as well as fellow movie stars Jodie Comer, Halle Berry, Gal Gadot, Jennifer Hudson and Rita Moreno in ELLE's 2021 Women in Hollywood issue to celebrate 'resilient' women.
The nine women are being honoured for their creative and cultural contributions, with each star gracing the cover for a series of stunning shots for the publication's November issue.
Stunning: Angelina Jolie looks incredible in ELLE's 2021 Women in Hollywood issue as she joins a slew of female actresses, including her co-stars from new movie The Eternals, to champion 'resilient' women
Having her say: Among those honoured in the issue is Jodie Comer who shares how her 'confidence' has grown over the years within the film industry and the lesson she's learned
Jolie heads up the leading females and looks sensational on the cover as she poses in a hammock. Clutching on to an Eternals comic in one hand, the mum-of-six radiates beauty in a flowing metallic dress.
Another shot sees her sporting a tailored suit and sipping on a cup of tea while held up in the air by ropes at the edge of a pool.
In the issue, Jolie - who is an advocate for refugees - discusses her upcoming movie and praises The Eternal's director, Oscar-winner Chloé Zao for her choice of casting.
'A lot of times as an actress, you’re that individual strong woman, or you have one sister; you don’t often have this family where you really get to know women and see all the different strengths,' Jolie explained.
Beautiful: Each female star has posed for their own individual cover, with Angelina (L) radiating beauty while lying in a hammock for hers and Jodie (R) stuns in black as she poses at a window
Sensational: Angelina wears a flowing metallic dress and clutches onto a copy of The Eternals comic in one hand in one gorgeous shot that sees her elevated above a pool backdrop
Praising her co-stars, Jolie continued: 'Gemma’s grace and elegance and the way she walks through the world. Salma’s motherhood and power, and Lauren’s connection and intelligence. Everybody came as themselves.
'Maybe there’s something to that, that the characters weren’t as far off [from ourselves]. I think there’s a secret that we don’t know that our director knows, because if you look at her films, she casts a lot of real people as their roles and it shapes her films.'
The Eternals, set for release in cinemas in November, follows a race of immortal beings with superhuman powers who are secretly living on Earth.
As well as starring Richard Madden, Kit Harington and Don Lee, the movie will see Jolie, Hayek, Chan and Ridloff appear as superheroes too, with Grown Ups star Hayek praising director Zao for breaking mainstream stereotypes on the big screen.
Strike a pose: Salma Hayek oozes glamour in a feathered yellow dress and dramatic make-up on her front cover
Honest: She opens up about becoming a Marvel superhero in her 50s and praises The Eternals director Chloe Zao for 'acknowledging' her and breaking mainstream stereotypes on screen
Powerful: Lauren Ridloff (L) shares what it's like to become Marvel's first ever deaf superhero on the big screen, while Gemma Chan (R) praises the media franchise for showing diversity on a global scale
Beauty: In one shot, actress Gemma - who has become an activist rallying against racial hate - stuns in a textured co-ord and heels as she kicks back on an armchair in a lavishly decorated room
She reveals in the issue that when she was first contacted about the movie, she thought it was going to play a 'grandmother' type role.
'I never thought I was going to be one of the Eternals. It doesn’t happen. It’s never happened to me like that before without a fight and like, ‘I can do this, please hire me!’ When she told me I was one of them, I was like, ‘Me, Mexican, Middle Eastern? Me, in my fifties? I’m going to be a superhero in a Marvel movie?’ Sometimes as a woman, as a woman of color and with the age, you feel so overlooked,' she said.
Commending Zao for 'having balls', she championed the director for 'acknowledging' her within the industry.
Ridloff, whose character Makkari is deaf like her and the first deaf superhero within the Marvel universe, reveals she jumped at the chance to 'show representation' on screen in a 'refreshing' way, while Chan praises Marvel for showing diversity on a global scale with its movies.
