Endgame somehow balanced 36 lead characters, six timelines, and a talking raccoon – made everyone cry – and still didn’t bag an Oscar
Scarlett Johansson has two Oscar noms to her name, but one thing still bugs her: how on earth did Avengers: Endgame – a box office behemoth and emotional payoff to over a decade of Marvel storytelling – and a IMDb rating of 8.4 get almost totally snubbed at the Academy Awards?
“How did this film not get nominated for an Oscar?” she asked in a recent Vanity Fair interview. “It was an impossible movie that should not have worked, that really works as a film — and also, it’s one of the most successful films of all time.”
Johansson isn’t alone in her confusion. Endgame — which wrapped the Infinity Saga with the kind of scale, stakes, and tears that most blockbusters can only dream of — picked up just one nomination, for Visual Effects. No Best Picture, no nods for directing or performances. Not even for the script that managed to juggle about 300 superheroes without completely falling apart.
It’s hardly the first time genre films have been overlooked. Think The Dark Knight in 2009 — so egregiously snubbed it helped trigger a rule change to allow more Best Picture nominees. Or Spider-Man: No Way Home, which pulled in massive numbers and fan praise but still only got one nomination (again: Visual Effects). Even The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring had to wait until its third film, Return of the King, to get the top gong.
As for Johansson, don’t expect her to suit up again anytime soon. “It would be very hard for me to understand in what capacity [returning] would make sense,” she said. “I miss my buddies and really would love to be with them forever, but what works about the character is that her story is complete.”
She did get a final spin in 2021’s Black Widow, which she also executive produced. And if she doesn’t return to the MCU, well — maybe the SNL stage will keep her busy. Oscars, your move.
