Watch Stephen Colbert explain to Scarlett Johansson why Black Widow could beat Kylo Ren

Though they're both owned by The Walt Disney Company, Black Widow and Kylo Ren are two characters from very different franchises, and therefore they're not likely to face off on the big-screen anytime soon. If they did happen to meet each other, though, professional nerd Stephen Colbert knows who'd win the fight. 

Scarlett Johansson stopped by Colbert's Late Show Thursday night, just days after the Black Widow trailer dropped, ready to promote her new film Marriage Story, which co-stars Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker's Adam Driver. After discussing the depth and complexity of the heartbreaking romantic drama Johansson and Driver just made together, Colbert shifted the discussion to franchises. Since Marriage Story was filmed before both the release of The Rise of Skywalker and the release of Avengers: Endgame, Colbert asked if Johansson and Driver ever decided to trade off franchise secrets. 

Johansson said no, but Colbert — who can go chapter and verse on everything from The Lord of the Rings to lightsaber design — had another big nerdy question for her: Could Black Widow take Kylo Ren in a fight.

"Is that sort of like a tiger against a lion kind of thing?" Johansson joked.

Colbert didn't pressure his guest to provide an answer, because he had one already prepared. 

"I think Black Widow would take Kylo Ren, because he's a drop out! He dropped out of training with Luke Skywalker. Rey dropped out of training with Luke Skywalker. Luke Skywalker dropped out of training with Yoda! You, Black Widow, went all the way through the training," Colbert said. "Sticktoitiveness is what you have. Plus you do the thing where you get on the shoulders with your thighs and snap their necks. He can't do that."

"I like this," Johansson replied. 

Settling nerdy arguments about crossover combat aside, Colbert also asked Johansson about the meat of the Black Widow movie, which she confirmed takes place after Captain America: Civil War but before Avengers: Infinity War. According to Johansson, it's the kind of film that couldn't have been made with the character years earlier, despite frequent requests for it from fans, because her entire history with Natasha Romanoff had to define it. 

"I think it has a complexity to it that is just delicious," she said. "Not to say that it wouldn't have been something else and totally entertaining 10 years ago, but we get to do stuff now that is just...good."

Marriage Story is now streaming on Netflix. Black Widow hits theaters May 1, 2020.