Disney Pushing Robert Downey Jr., Several Other Avengers: Endgame Stars for Oscar Consideration

Disney and Marvel Studios have achieved the near-impossible this year, releasing a movie that topped James Cameron’s Avatar at the box office. Avengers: Endgame, the culmination of the decade-long Infinity Saga, went on to become the highest-grossing film in history after its release in April. Its place in the record books has already been cemented, but Disney is clearly hoping to further bolster its legacy this awards season. The House of Mouse is pushing Endgame for a ton of Academy Awards, including acting nods for all of its main stars.

Marvel fans have been pushing for Robert Downey Jr. to receive an Oscar nomination for portraying Tony Stark ever since the film was released. It seemed likely that Disney would at least submit Downey for an acting award, if not put a substantial campaign behind him. However, it looks like Disney and Marvel think all of their Endgame stars could stand a change this awards season. A total of 13 actors from Avengers: Endgame now appear under the “For Your Consideration” banner on Disney’s awards campaign website.

Each one of the actors that Disney is asking to be considered is being submitted for the Best Supporting Actor or Best Supporting Actress categories, including Downey. Since it’s an ensemble, no one performer is being billed as the film’s lead, so there won’t be any Lead Actor or Actress awards here.

Disney has listed Downey, Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Jeremy Renner, Josh Brolin, Paul Rudd, and Don Cheadle for Best Supporting Actor consideration. Scarlett Johansson, Gwyneth Paltrow, Zoe Saldana, Karen Gillan, and Brie Larson are all listed for Best Supporting Actress. Disney has also asked for consideration for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Film Editing, Best Production Design, Best Costume Design, Best Makeup & Hairstyling, Best Sound Mixing, Best Sound Editing, Best Visual Effects, and Best Score.

Realistically, Endgame will likely only be nominated for Academy Awards in the technical categories. Original Score is potentially the biggest award it could be nominated for, though pushing Downey as a supporting actor instead of a lead is a smart decision. The lead actor category is more crowded this year than it’s been in some time, and Downey wouldn’t have been able to break in, even with his solid performance.

Do you think Avengers: Endgame will be nominated for any Academy Awards? Let us know in the comments!