Scarlett Johansson thinks ‘Avengers: Endgame’ should have been nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars
‘“It was an impossible movie that should not have worked, that really works as a film,” the star said in a new interview, adding that it’s also “one of the most successful films of all time”
Johansson also reiterated that she will not be reprising her ‘Avengers’ role as Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow in the future
It’s been five years since Scarlett Johansson said farewell to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and she’s still wondering how Avengers: Endgame didn’t snag a best picture nomination.
In a new cover story for Vanity Fair’s June issue, the actress-director, who played Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow in the MCU, said what some fans of the franchise have been thinking since the superhero flick hit theaters in 2019: “How did this film not get nominated for an Oscar?”
More specifically, Johansson wants to know why the movie did not receive a nod in the Best Picture category of the Academy Awards. Endgame was nominated for one Oscar, best visual effects, which ultimately went to 1917.
Her reasoning? A movie’s commercial appeal should not affect the artistic accolades it receives.
Lachlan Bailey / Vanity Fair
Scarlett Johansson for ‘Vanity Fair’ June 2025 issue
“It was an impossible movie that should not have worked, that really works as a film,” she told Vanity Fair, adding that, “also, it’s one of the most successful films of all time.”
Johansson, who received two Oscar nods of her own at the same ceremony — actress in a leading role for Marriage Story and best supporting actress for her performance in Jojo Rabbit — also told the magazine that unlike some of her Avengers costars, she has no plans to return to the MCU.
While both Robert Downey Jr. and Chris Hemsworth — who made their Marvel debut alongside Johansson in the original 2012 Avengers — have ended their respective MCU retirements to join the star-studded cast of Avengers: Doomsday, Black Widow is benched for good, the actress told Vanity Fair.
“It would be very hard for me to understand in what capacity [returning] would make sense for me, for the character that I play,” said Johansson, who took her final turn as the hero in 2021’s Black Widow. But that doesn’t mean she wouldn’t love to work alongside her former castmates once again.
“I miss my buddies,” she continued, “and really would love to be with them forever, but what works about the character is that her story is complete. I don’t want to mess with that. For fans too—it’s important for them.”
Lachlan Bailey / Vanity Fair
Scarlett Johansson for ‘Vanity Fair’
The star echoed a sentiment she has already shared about her fan-favorite MCU character who — spoiler alert — dies in Endgame.
When asked about whether she would reprise the role earlier this year, the star told InStyle, “Natasha is dead. She is dead. She’s dead. Okay?”
MCU fans “just don’t want to believe it,” she continued at the time. “They’re like, ‘But she could come back!’ Look, I think the balance of the entire universe is held in her hand. We’re going to have to let it go. She saved the world. Let her have her hero moment.”
Marvel/Disney/Kobal/Shutterstock
The cast of ‘Avengers: Endgame’
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The upcoming fifth Avengers film, Doomsday — originally titled Avengers: The Kang Dynasty — was first announced in July 2022, three years after the titular heroes famously thwarted Thanos’ catastrophic
Downey Jr., 60, who famously played Iron Man in the MCU, will return to the franchise to play Doctor Doom, he announced at San Diego Comic-Con in July 2024.
“What did I tell ya? I like playing complicated characters,” he told fans at the time.
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