Scarlett Johansson was shocked when Marvel’s Avengers: Endgame was not nominated for Best Picture: ‘It was an impossible movie…’

Avengers: Endgame is hailed by many as the biggest superhero movie of all time. Marvel completely hit it out of the park, be it with box-office collection, the overall expanse of the narrative, or the star-studded cast, which, to everyone’s surprise, worked seamlessly on screen. However, no matter how big or impressive superhero films have gotten over time, whenever it comes to award functions, there are only a few who have cracked their way into nominations apart from visual effects and costumes. Actor Scarlett Johansson pointed out this very fact in a recent interview and revealed that she was shocked when she heard that Avengers: Endgame has not been nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars.

While talking to Vanity Fair, the Black Widow star voiced her disappointment over the supposed snub and questioned how such a successful movie failed to make the cut for the Best Picture award. “How did this film not get nominated for an Oscar? 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.” Like most superhero movies in the past, Endgame received a nomination for the movie’s visual effects, but that was it. Among Marvel’s wide filmography, only one movie has ever been nominated for Best Picture, and that was Black Panther (2018), and the Chadwick Boseman starrer took home other awards such as the Oscar for Best Costume, Best Soundtrack and Best Production Design.

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Scarlett Johansson seems to have pointed out a reality which is quite prevalent in the film fraternity. Renowned director Martin Scorsese once compared Marvel movies to “theme parks” and said that they couldn’t be considered cinema. While talking to Empire, he said, “I don’t see them. I tried, you know? But that’s not cinema. Honestly, the closest I can think of them, as well made as they are, with actors doing the best they can under the circumstances, is theme parks.” Even director James Cameron told IndieWire about feeling “fatigue” from watching superhero movies. “Come on, guys, there are other stories to tell besides hypergonadal males without families doing death-defying things for two hours and wrecking cities in the process. It’s like, Oy!”

Apart from snubbing at awards shows, Marvel is currently focusing on its upcoming projects like The Fantastic Four: The First Steps and the new Avengers film, Doomsday. Since Endgame, the studio has struggled while trying to deliver a hit in theatres, and now with Robert Downey Jr coming back to the cast, Marvel will be hoping to put a win on the board.