‘Avengers’ cast joins list of Oscar presenters

Credit: Kevin Winter/Getty Images

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced today that the cast of 2012′s highest-grossing film, ‘The Avengers’, will be presenting at the 85th Oscar telecast.

Stars Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Samuel L. Jackson, Jeremy Renner, and Mark Ruffalo will present together at the ceremony, though Scarlett Johansson is curiously absent. In theory, she should be at the ceremony, given that she’s the lead vocalist on Best Original Song nominee “Before My Time” by J. Ralph (from the documentary Chasing Ice). But this is only conjecture, since no official announcement has yet been made about Johansson performing on the show. Also missing is Chris Hemsworth, for whatever reason.

Among this male group of ‘Avengers’, there are six cumulative Academy Award nominations:

Robert Downey, Jr.: 2 nominations, Best Actor for Chaplin (1993), and Best Supporting Actor for Tropic Thunder (2008)

Jeremy Renner: 2 nominations, Best Actor for The Hurt Locker (2009), and Best Supporting Actor for The Town (2010)

Samuel L. Jackson: 1 nomination, Best Supporting Actor for Pulp Fiction (1994)

Mark Ruffalo: 1 nomination, Best Supporting Actor for The Kids Are All Right (2010)

[Curiously enough, Ruffalo competed in the same category against fellow 'Avenger' Renner, though both lost to Batman -- or, rather, Christian Bale, who won for his performance in The Fighter]

This group joins previously confirmed presenters such as Mark Wahlberg, host Seth MacFarlane’s CGI creation Ted, and last year’s acting winners.

The 85th Academy Awards air February 24 on ABC.

Full story: Entertainment Weekly