By Chuck Rice
With the 91st Academy Awards only a few days away, there’s much to celebrate on this year’s show if you’re a fan of superhero movies. I admit, I never thought I’d see the day that a film within the frame work of the Marvel Cinematic Universe would be nominated for Best Picture, let alone have more than a legitimate shot at winning. Add to the excitement that another superhero movie is up for Best Animated Feature, and this could be quite the night for our friends from Wakanda & all the Spiderverses out there.
But imagine if the frame work for the MCU hadn’t been laid out 10 plus years ago, and started with the right people, would we even be talking about an MCU film being up for Best Picture? In many ways, we have Iron Manand what it started to thank for that.
Retiring from the Marvel Cinematic Universe?
That’s why when Variety published an interview today with Gwyneth Paltrow leading up to the Oscars and looking at her career, it was very disheartening to learn she’d be exiting the MCU after The Avengers: Endgame. As she told Variety, “I mean, I’m a bit old to be in a suit and all that at this point.”
She went on to speak about what a wonderful experience it had been for her, and how lucky she was to have had the opportunity because Iron Man director, Jon Favreau, convinced her to come on board, when she wasn’t sold at first. “I feel very lucky that I did it, because I actually got talked into it,” Paltrow said. “It was such a wonderful experience making the first ‘Iron Man’ and then to watch how important it has become to the fans.”
Thank You Gwyneth Paltrow
If The Avengers: Endgame really is the last time we see Paltrow on screen in the role of Pepper, we all owe her a thank you for bringing so much heart and humanity to the MCU. She played the role of Iron Man’s moral compass perfectly and helped launch one of the biggest film franchises we may ever see.
You can read her full statement on being in the MCU and how much she is celebrating Black Panther‘s Best Picture nomination in the excellent interview & career retrospective with Variety’s Ramin Setoodeh here.
Avengers: Endgame hits theaters on April 26, 2019.
By Chuck Rice