With production on The Avengers sequel Age of Ultron getting underway early next year, details are starting to trickle out regarding writer/director Joss Whedon’s highly anticipated follow-up.  Whedon revealed the tantalizing subtitle at Comic-Con last weekend, and subsequently clarified that the pic will involve a wholly new origin story for the titular robot.  Whedon also hinted that Clark Gregg’s Agent Coulson may not be making an appearance in the film, but it sounds like there will be plenty of character development to go around even if Coulson is absent.  During a recent interview, the filmmaker revealed that Scarlett Johansson’s Black Widow is “a huge part” of The Avengers: Age of Ultron.  Hit the jump to read on. 

Despite adding at least two new human characters with Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch, Whedon told Nerd HQ (via MTV) that Johansson’s Black Widow plays a major role in the film:

"Natasha is a huge part of the sequel because you do want to concentrate on the people who don't have their own franchises. Although she in Cap 2, [and] she's great. She was the most fun for me because she's not a hero, you know, and it's something that I read—and I feel bad that I can't remember who wrote the book—but it's in one of the books explaining, 'These guys are heroes, you are a spy. It's a different thing—it's a different skill set—and you don't have their moral high ground or any of that good stuff.' And that just makes her so interesting to me. So yeah, the stuff I've got going on with her in the second one is killer."

Whedon also recently said that Jeremy Renner’s Hawkeye has a more significant role to play this time around, so it certainly sounds like the two non-superheroes of the group won’t be getting the shaft story-wise.  The Avengers: Age of Ultron opens in theaters on May 1, 2015.  Watch Whedon's full interview with Nerd HQ below.