This Year's Oscars Hoping To Assemble Marvel Stars For Show--Report

Earlier this week, it was reported that this year's 91st Academy Awards will not have a host, following the exit of Kevin Hart in December. Producers will reportedly enlist the help of various A-list stars to introduce the segments across the night, and a new report states that these might include big-name stars of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the Academy are looking to use as many MCU actors as possible for an Avengers reunion on the night. At the 2013 awards, the likes of Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, and Samuel L Jackson appeared on stage together. THR states that Academy wants to include even more Marvel stars this time, which will tie in with the upcoming release of Avengers: Endgame.

In addition, the Oscars is broadcast by ABC, which, like Marvel Studios, is owned by Disney. The Academy has not commented on this story, but THR sources states that "specific details are still being hammered out about how the actors who play the popular characters will be incorporated." The ceremony takes place on February 24.

Having no single host is not totally uncharted territory for the Academy Awards. 30 years ago in 1989, the show had no host, instead opting to open with an 11-minute monologue in which actor Rob Lowe sings "Proud Mary" with Snow White. The last time the Oscars featured multiple hosts was in 2011, when James Franco and Anne Hathaway shared hosting duties.

Hart backed out of the hosting gig after people discovered years-old tweets where the comedian and actor made homophobic comments. According to Hart, the Academy gave him an ultimatum: apologize or step down as host. Hart initially said he wouldn't apologize, but he later did, saying he was sorry to the LGBTQ community for "my insensitive words from my past."

The most recent Academy Awards ceremony was watched by the lowest viewership in history, with only 26.5 million people tuning in. In an effort to get more people to watch, the Academy announced a "Popular Film" category, but it was scrapped in the wake of a backlash from critics and audiences.