Marvel's BLACK PANTHER was able to do what no other comic book movie had done before and secured an Oscar nomination for Best Picture this year, and it looks like Marvel and Disney will take another shot this year with AVENGERS: ENDGAME. The biggest movie ever made certainly has a shot at several trophies, and Disney has launched its official campaign, pushing numerous categories they believe the movie deserves some gold for. Sadly, longtime series star Robert Downey Jr. is nowhere to be seen on the list, despite his heart-wrenching, final turn as Tony Stark/Iron Man.
Disney has launched their official For Your Consideration page (via Uproxx) as we head into awards season (also included are pages for ALADDIN, LION KING, TOY STORY 4, and FROZEN II), and on the AVENGERS page there are several categories Disney is currently vying for, like Best Picture, Best Director (Joe and Anthony Russo), Best Visual Effects, and Best Score (Alan Silvestri). However, as noticed by many at this point, nowhere is Downey or any other actor’s name listed in any of the acting categories.
[SEE MORE]
Here’s the full list:
The movie earned widespread acclaim from critics and audiences for all sorts of reasons, with Downey’s performance, in particular, receiving specific praise. Joe Russo spoke with the Daily Beast last month about how he doesn’t really push for awards with his movies, but that Downey’s work deserves special attention. “But I just want to stump for one thing, and that’s Robert Downey. I don’t know if I have ever seen — in movie history — a global audience react to a performance the way they did to Robert Downey in that movie,” he said. “There were people bawling in movie theaters, hyperventilating. I mean, that is a profound performance, when you can touch audiences all over the world to that degree. We’ve never seen anything like that, and if that doesn’t deserve an Oscar, I don’t know what does.”
When studios start their Oscar campaigns they usually take the opportunity to push for as many categories as they can, and that usually applies to performances too. So, trying to take the logical route, the fact that ENDGAME features such a large cast and a bevy of great performances (also look to Chris Hemsworth, Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson and Jeremy Renner), Disney may still just be figuring out how to push their actors for awards season.
[SEE MORE]
It’s easy to look at Downey and say he should be in the Best Actor in a Leading Role category, given his main placement in the MCU ever since it’s beginning with IRON MAN. But, in the case of ENDGAME, couldn’t Evans be considered for Lead Actor too? He has just as much screen time as Downey, so why not? It may seem petty for Disney to not push any actors at this time as they try to avoid the risk of alienating some of the others, but hey, that may just be the game.
At the end of the day, no matter the reason, Downey gave one of the best performances of the year and it’s damn near ridiculous that Disney isn’t trying to push him for some awards consideration. These campaigns are designed to keep movies and the people who made them in the minds of voters as they’re bombarded with other movies, and pushing Downey could be one of Disney's smartest bets. He has a lot of competition this year, though, with names like Adam Driver (MARRIAGE STORY), Robert De Niro (THE IRISHMAN), Antonio Banderas (PAIN & GLORY), Joaquin Phoenix (JOKER), Leonardo DiCaprio (ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD), Adam Sandler (UNCUT GEMS) and many more in talks for some nominations.
Awards season is just now getting started, so there are a few months to go as studios push certain movies and more are seen by voters and the public. Priorities will shift and contenders and frontrunners will come forward. At this point last year it still seemed a toss in the air if BLACK PANTHER could break the mold, but come Oscar time is was a damn-near guarantee. So, maybe RDJ could get in there if Disney does decide to make the push, because if "I love you 3000" isn't worthy of some gold, I don't know what is.