‘VisionQuest’ Star Paul Bettany Says Robert Downey Jr. Deserved an Oscar Nomination for ‘Avengers: Endgame’

Superhero movies have a long history of winning at the box office and losing in awards season. Every few years, someone from inside the genre says what fans have been thinking, and the argument starts again.

This time the voice belongs to a longtime Marvel castmate. His pick for the performance that should have been in the Oscar conversation will be familiar to anyone who watched the franchise’s biggest finale.

When ‘Avengers: Endgame‘ arrived in 2019, it capped more than a decade of interconnected storytelling. It also became one of the most expensive films ever produced, with an estimated budget of $356 million to $400 million, and it ranks as the second-highest-grossing film of all time.

For awards voters, it was a different story. ‘Endgame’ earned a single Oscar nomination, for Best Visual Effects, at the 92nd Academy Awards. The award went to ‘1917’.

Bettany, who plays Vision, recently named Downey’s ‘Endgame’ performance as the Marvel turn that should have been nominated. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, he called it Oscar-worthy and described it as an extraordinary performance.

Fans quickly responded in the comments on the magazine’s Instagram post of the interview, and many agreed. One commenter argued that ‘Endgame’ itself should have received many nominations for being a movie that had never been done before.

The sentiment echoes what others have said over the years. During the 2019 awards season, Joe and Anthony Russo, who directed the film, called Downey the greatest actor of his generation and described his work in ‘Endgame’ as a profound performance that moved people around the world on a scale never seen before.

Scarlett Johansson, who played Black Widow, said in a Vanity Fair cover story that she is still wondering how ‘Endgame’ wasn’t nominated for Best Picture. Disney also launched a big Oscar push at the time, reportedly submitting 13 actors, including Downey, Chris Evans and Mark Ruffalo, for supporting categories.

Downey did take home some recognition for the film, winning Best Hero at the MTV Movie & TV Awards in 2019. He later won an Oscar for ‘Oppenheimer’, which gives the long-running debate an extra twist.

The conversation is landing at a convenient moment. Downey returns to the Marvel Cinematic Universe in ‘Avengers: Doomsday’, which opens on December 18, but this time as the villain Doctor Doom rather than Tony Stark.

In a cast interview, Downey explained the difference between the two roles. Tony Stark’s trauma ultimately shaped him into a hero, while Doom’s experience had the opposite effect. He also described being behind Doom’s mask as isolating, especially when watching the rest of the cast socialize.

Chris Evans reflected on seeing Downey work again, and said it brought back memories of the original ‘The Avengers’, when he found himself watching Downey perform like a fan.

Reassemble the team & relive the experience as Avengers Endgame: Encore returns to theaters September 25. Tickets now available for IMAX and Infinity Vision screens: https://t.co/pZZ4PiOyQb https://t.co/2wKSVG4FLz

— Marvel Studios (@MarvelStudios) August 25, 2026

Bettany has his own Marvel future in motion. He returns as Vision in ‘VisionQuest’, which arrives on Disney+ on October 14, with a cast that includes James Spader.

As for the big movies, he has said he is pretty sure he will appear in either ‘Avengers: Doomsday’ or ‘Avengers: Secret Wars’, though he stressed that you never know with Marvel. He is not formally confirmed for either film. He earlier told The Telegraph that he has some Avengers duties next year.

Part of the reason the question keeps coming back is the sheer scale of the finale. ‘Endgame’ asked audiences to invest in more than 20 films, and Downey’s arc carried much of the emotional weight.

Superhero movies often struggle for recognition outside technical categories, which is why each new comment from a castmate or filmmaker finds an audience. With Downey back in the franchise and ‘Doomsday’ on the horizon, the discussion may get another round.

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