‘Avengers: Endgame’ directors think Robert Downey Jr deserves an Oscar

Robert Downey Jr deserves an Academy Award for his work in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

That’s according to Avengers: Endgame director Joe Russo, who has heaped praise on the actor for both his work as Iron Man and for his impact on the cinematic landscape.

“His cumulative body of work from these movies is staggering,” Russo recently told The Washington Post. “If you look at the work over just even the last four [Marvel] films he’s done, it’s phenomenal. . . . He deserves an Oscar perhaps more than anyone in the last 40 years because of the way that he has motivated popular culture.”

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Despite the huge popularly of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it has still been mostly ignored by the Academy Awards.

Black Panther’s Best Picture nomination last year did change that, though, and Fandango’s Erik Davis recently revealed that there was a big screening of Avengers: Endgame for Academy members this week, which suggests that Marvel believe it could follow in Black Panther’s footsteps.

There has also already been early chatter about Robert Downey Jr’s performance as Iron Man in Avengers: Endgame, with viewers eager to see the actor rewarded for his portrayal in the blockbuster with acting gongs come awards season.

However, Joe Russo’s comments could actually be interpreted to mean that Downey doesn’t just deserve either a Best Actor or Best Supporting Actor nomination for the film, but is actually more deserving of an Honorary Academy Award.

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There’s no denying the fact that Robert Downey Jr’s casting for 2008’s Iron Man laid the foundations for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which has gone on to consist of 22 films that have grossed over $20 billion combined.

Of course, Downey Jr has been handsomely remunerated for his work in the MCU. In fact, it has been alleged that the actor has actually has been paid around £265 million ($350 million) in total for playing the character in 10 different movies.

So even if he doesn’t land that Oscar, he’s still done pretty well from it all.