Disney and Marvel Studios have officially started the Academy Awards campaign for Avengers: Endgame. The studio was able to successfully get Black Panther into the awards game last year, which saw the movie gain a nomination for Best Picture. The Ryan Coogler-directed movie became the first-ever superhero movie to gain the nomination and it was a huge deal for comic book fans all over the world and the industry. Now, Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige is looking to repeat the same success with Avengers: Endgame, which is now the highest grossing movie of all time.
Disney's For Your Consideration site has been updated to include listings for Avengers: Endgame screenings in Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, and London. At this time, it is unclear what specific awards Marvel Studios is going to go after. With that being said, it easy to see Best Picture, Best Visual Effects, Best Director, and maybe even a Best Actor nomination for Robert Downey Jr. The Russo Brothers have been talking about Downey Jr. taking home the Best Actor Academy Award ever since the movie hit theaters back in April.
While Avengers: Endgame was able to satisfy fans and critics, the Academy Awards is a whole different ballgame. Taking home Best Picture, or even Best Actor seems to be just out of reach, but stranger things have happened. Looking at Robert Downey Jr.'s career as a whole and his amazing comeback is certainly worthy of recognition from the Academy. The actor was nominated for Best Actor for 1993's Chaplin and then for Best Supporting Actor for 2009's Tropic Thunder. If Downey Jr. was able to take home an award, Avengers: Endgame would certainly be a nice place to get it.
Robert Downey Jr. helped to build the Marvel Cinematic Universe back in 2008 with Iron Man. It's eleven years later and the superhero movie has changed drastically since he played Tony Stark for the first time. Marvel Studios has shifted what the comic book movie represents and what it can be, so it might be time for the Academy to recognize that further. Even a nomination for Best Picture would be huge, which many would see as the Academy recognizing the studio and what it has created over the years.
When all is said and done, Disney and Marvel Studios may have to end up with the technical awards, which is good because it highlights how much time and effort went into making the movies. Avengers: Endgame features some pretty stellar effects, but Disney and Marvel Studios are obviously going for more than that. Disney will even become its own competition as Aladdin and The Lion King have also been submitted for Academy consideration. Regardless, we'll just have to wait and see which specific awards they're going after. In the meantime, you can keep checking the Disney Studio Awards website for updates.