The 91st Academy Awards are airing on ABC in less than two months, and the annual movies ceremony is still scrambling to get everything in order. it was reported yesterday, a month after Kevin Hart stepped down as host, that the Oscars will not have a host this year, which hasn't been done since 1989. Instead, there will be a rotating lineup of actors introducing segments during the evening, and now there's word that efforts are being made to assemble an Avengers reunion.
The Marvel Cinematic Universe has been a formidable film franchise for years now, but 2018 was its biggest year yet, with the culturally significant Black Panther, the gargantuan Avengers: Infinity War and the amusing Ant-Man and the Wasp. 2019 is set to be another momentous year for the superhero franchise, and according to THR, the Academy Award producers are aiming to capitalize on this by trying to bring in as many notable actors from the Avengers movies. Supposedly several of these actors were asked not to present at the Golden Globes this past weekend in order to ensure that them appearing on the Academy Awards would be a bigger deal.
Needless to say that if the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (which did not comment on this report) can pull this off, it could result in a ratings boost for this year's Oscars. After all, we've seen Disney use ABC to promote Marvel movies on shows like Jimmy Kimmel Live! and Good Morning America numerous times, so it makes sense why it would want to use the Academy Awards in a similar fashion. The awards show benefits from more people tuning in, and with Captain Marvel, Avengers: Endgame and Spider-Man: Far From Home all coming out this year, the extra press can only help Marvel.
The last time a Marvel gathering like this occurred at the Oscars was in 2013, when Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Jeremy Renner and Samuel L. Jackson were all on stage together over half a year after The Avengers came out. But this franchise's ranks have expanded significantly since then, and while it would be ridiculous to think that every major actor will appear at the Academy Awards, it will be interesting to see who is chosen to present alongside the non-MCU stars.
Between the Best Popular Film category debacle and Kevin Hart withdrawing from hosting due to controversial jokes and tweets of his from years past resurfacing, this has certainly been one of the weirdest lead-ups to an Oscars ceremony. We'll find out how the end product looks when the 91st Academy Awards airs on ABC on February 24, so be sure to check in with CinemaBlend as the cinematic festivities unfold. As for what movies there are to look forward to this year, check out our 2019 release schedule.
