MCU fan compiles a list of all Oscar winners in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, revealing the only movie without an Academy Award-winning actor.
A surprising MCU statistic shows the impressive amount of A-list talent Marvel Studios has amassed throughout the years, revealing how every movie in the franchise has had at least one Oscar winner, except for one Phase 5 installment. Throughout the MCU’s 16-year history, dozens of accomplished performers have joined the franchise, including multiple actors who have won Oscars for Best Actor or Best Supporting Actor, either before or after their MCU debut. The 96th Academy Awards presented Robert Downey Jr. with his first Oscar win for Best Supporting Actor, retroactively adding another Academy Award winner to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Reddit user mikeweasy lists every MCU movie released so far and the Academy Award winners (in the Best Performance categories) who appeared in them. Surprisingly, it took 32 installments and 15 years for the MCU to release a movie with no Oscar winners in it: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3’s packed cast includes Bradley Cooper, who holds 12 Academy Award nominations by 2024; as well as Sylvester Stallone, who holds three nominations. Yet, that’s as close as any member of the cast has gotten to an Oscar win. See the full list below:
MCU Movie
Academy Award Winner
Iron Man
Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Jeff Bridges
The Incredible Hulk
William Hurt, Robert Downey Jr.
Iron Man 2
Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Sam Rockwell
Thor
Natalie Portman, Anthony Hopkins
Captain America: The First Avenger
Tommy Lee Jones
The Avengers
Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow
Iron Man 3
Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Ben Kingsley
Thor: The Dark World
Natalie Portman, Anthony Hopkins
Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Robert Redford
Guardians of the Galaxy
Benicio del Toro
Avengers: Age of Ultron
Robert Downey Jr.
Ant-Man
Michael Douglas
Captain America: Civil War
Robert Downey Jr., William Hurt, Marissa Tomei
Doctor Strange
Tilda Swinton
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
Michelle Yeoh
Spider-Man: Homecoming
Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Marisa Tomei
Thor: Ragnarok
Cate Blanchett, Anthony Hopkins, Matt Damon – Taika Waititi (Oscar for Best Director)
Black Panther
Forrest Whitaker, Daniel Kalluuya, Lupita Nyong’o
Avengers: Infinity War
Robert Downey Jr., Benicio Del Toro
Ant-Man and the Wasp
Michael Douglas
Captain Marvel
Brie Larson
Avengers: Endgame
Robert Downey Jr., Brie Larson, Gwyneth Paltrow, Michael Douglas, Tilda Swinton, Marissa Tomei, William Hurt
Spider-Man: Far From Home
Marissa Tomei
Black Widow
William Hurt, Rachel Weisz
Shang-Chi
Michelle Yeoh, Ben Kingsley, Brie Larson
Eternals
Angelina Jolie, Mahershala Ali
Spider-Man: No Way Home
Jamie Foxx, Marissa Tomei
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
Charlize Theron
Thor: Love and Thunder
Natalie Portman, Matt Damon, Christian Bale, Russell Crowe – Taika Waititi (Oscar for Best Director)
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
Lupita Nyong’o – Angela Basset (Nomination, for her role as Queen Ramonda)
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania
Michael Douglas
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
None
The Marvels
Brie Larson
With his 2024 win, Robert Downey Jr. automatically becomes the Oscar winner with the most MCU appearances. Previously, Avengers: Age of Ultron stood alongside Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 as an MCU movie with no Academy Award winners in it. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness also had come close to this status, but Michelle Yeoh’s cameo as Aleta Ogord and Charlize Theron’s cameo as Clea in their respective movies’ post-credits scenes prevented it at the last minute.
The MCU Will Only Bring More A-List Stars In Future Projects
Marvel has dramatically reduced the MCU’s output, but that doesn’t mean that the franchise will slow down on every front. Four of Phase 5’s upcoming MCU movies feature an Oscar winner or an Oscar-nominated actor. Hugh Jackman, nominated for 2013’s Les Misérables, returns as Wolverine in Deadpool & Wolverine. Harrison Ford, nominated in 1986 for Witness, plays Thaddeus Ross in Captain America: Brave New World. Florence Pugh, nominated for Best Actress in 2020 for Little Women, returns as Yelena Belova in Thunderbolts. Mahershala Ali, who won two Best Actor Oscars for 2017’s Moonlight and 2019’s Green Book, stars in Blade.
Besides the Oscar-nominated and Oscar-winning actors who will be joining the MCU, upcoming Marvel projects are also adding A-list stars such as Ryan Reynolds, who brings the Deadpool continuity along with him in Deadpool & Wolverine, as well as The Fantastic Four‘s star-studded cast, which includes The Mandalorian‘s Pedro Pascal, The Bear‘s Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Mission Impossible‘s Vanessa Kirby, and Stranger Things‘ Joseph Quinn. Other A-list actors will likely play smaller roles in Phase 5 and 6 movies, depending on Marvel Studios’ casting choices for characters like The Fantastic Four‘s main villain, HERBIE’s voice actor, and Deadpool & Wolverine‘s multiversal cameos.
Golden Globe winners Steven Yeun and Ayo Edibiri were attached to appear in Thunderbolts , but delays caused scheduling conflicts that led to their exit from the movie.
Given their multiversal nature, Avengers: The Kang Dynasty and Avengers: Secret Wars are also likely to feature multiple stars, both reprising their previous Marvel roles and making their MCU debut. Information about Avengers: Secret Wars is still scarce, but such a big event could include cameos by characters like Nicolas Cage’s Ghost Rider, Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Man, and Robert Downey Jr.’s Iron Man, at least in theory. Until then, only The Fantastic Four is on track to join Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 as an MCU movie without any Oscar winner.
