Scarlett Johansson Slams Oscars Snub of Avengers: Endgame: “How Did This Film Not Get Nominated?”

The MCU star reflects on the Academy’s oversight of the record-breaking blockbuster and shares candid thoughts on the Oscars, her Marvel exit, and what’s next.

It’s been five years since Avengers: Endgame rewrote box office history and brought an emotional close to a major chapter in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. But for Scarlett Johansson, one glaring detail about its legacy still stings: the film’s near-total shutout at the Academy Awards.

“How did this film not get nominated for an Oscar?” Johansson asked in a recent interview with Vanity Fair. “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.”

The 2020 Oscars saw Endgame receive just a single nod — for Best Visual Effects — while being overlooked in top-tier categories like Best Picture and Best Director, a move that still confounds many fans and now, Johansson herself.

Despite the MCU’s enormous cultural footprint and financial success, Oscar recognition has remained elusive. Black Panther remains the only Marvel film to ever receive a Best Picture nomination, and between the franchise’s 36 films, only four Oscars have been awarded — three to Black Panther and one to Wakanda Forever, all in technical categories like costume and production design.

As Johansson made clear, her frustration goes beyond just Endgame. Earlier this year, she took the stage at the 97th Academy Awards alongside veteran actress June Squibb to promote Eleanor the Great, Johansson’s directorial debut. While the experience was meaningful, she didn’t hold back on critiquing the bloated show format.

“Why was it so long?” she questioned. When Vanity Fair pointed out the extended James Bond tribute might have contributed to the runtime, Johansson raised an eyebrow, adding, “It felt like an ad placement. What a weird thing. People were like, ‘What the hell was that?’”

Though still closely tied to her Marvel legacy, Johansson has made it clear that her time as Natasha Romanoff, a.k.a. Black Widow, is over. “It would be very hard for me to understand in what capacity [returning] would make sense for me, for the character that I play,” she said. “I miss my buddies 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.”

She reinforced the point bluntly in March, saying, “Natasha is dead. She is dead. She’s dead. Okay?”

While Johansson remains firm in her Marvel farewell, several of her Avengers co-stars are not so finished. Chris Evans is making a cameo in Deadpool & Wolverine, while Chris Hemsworth and Robert Downey Jr. are slated to appear in Avengers: Doomsday — with Downey playing none other than the villainous Victor von Doom.

Still, Johansson’s connection to the franchise runs deep, and her recent remarks reflect a broader conversation about how genre films, particularly superhero epics, are viewed by the film establishment.

Whether or not the Academy ever reconsiders its stance on blockbuster storytelling, Johansson’s pride in her Marvel work — and her unfiltered honesty — proves that for her, Endgame was more than just a film. It was a defining piece of cinema history that deserved its due.