Advertisement

Movies & TV News & Features

Can the Avengers save the 2019 Oscars from Kevin Hart?

Breaking news! In a blatant bid to distract everyone from the problematic initial host who still refuses to go away, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) has announced it plans to assemble the Avengers on the stage of the Dolby Theater for the 91st Academy Awards next month.

As The Hollywood Reporter pointed out, the 2013 ceremony brought Robert Downey Jr., Samuel L. Jackson, Jeremy Renner, Chris Evans and Mark Ruffalo together onstage, but now apparently AMPAS, ABC and Marvel are trying to pull off something even more impressive, presumably reaching out to everyone who appeared in Avengers: Infinity War (and Renner and Paul Rudd, whose characters sat that movie out in anticipation of April’s Avengers: Endgame) to attract young, desirable viewers.

Since ABC and Marvel are both owned by Disney, and since those Endgame contracts surely included earth’s mightiest cross-promotional appearances, I don’t think this will be too much of a problem. But if the Academy is really out to distract us from the Kevin Hart thing and proceed without a host, I hope they really go for it, and make it an all-Avengers evening, with every presenter and announcer coming from the MCU.

It’s not as much of a stretch as you might think – given the massive scale of the Marvel project over the last 11 years, literally dozens of movie stars have been drawn into a movie or two. And if prestige is a sticking point, most of Marvel’s biggest actors have a nomination or two under their belts, and a surprising number of its players have won.

And several members of Marvel’s rep company are chasing nominations of their own this year: Bradley Cooper, who voices Rocket the raccoon, is chasing a few for directing, producing, co-writing and starring in A Star Is Born, and Sam Rockwell and Robert Redford – the villains in the second Iron Man and Captain America movies, respectively – are chasing nominations for Vice and The Old Man And The Gun. Heck, Glenn Close – who led the Nova Corps in Guardians Of The Galaxy – just became a favourite for best actress after winning a Golden Globe for her performance in The Wife.

So, what the hell: all Avengers, all the time. They can present, they can win, they can shake it out however they like. I would politely suggest Chadwick Boseman hand out the best picture award whether or not Black Panther winds up in contention – there’s no question he deserves the moment.

Superhero Nonsense is NOW’s weekly column delving into all things superheroic. Check out previous columns here.

@normwilner

Advertisement

Exclusive content and events straight to your inbox

Subscribe to our Newsletter

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

By signing up, I agree to receive emails from Now Toronto and to the Privacy Policy and Terms & Conditions.