Entertainment

The Garfield vs. Batkid Plot Thickens

Between that epic selfie, surprise pizza and the Adele Dazeem debacle, you might not have noticed that there were two planned guests missing from the 2014 Oscars. Andrew Garfield and the San Francisco Batkid, Miles Scott, were supposed to be part of a segment that sounds like it would've been amazing, but as anyone who watched knows, it ultimately didn't happen. So why not? There's a rumor that it's because Garfield wasn't happy with the script and stormed out of rehearsal, while the Academy maintains that it was more for logistical reasons.

The theme of this year's Oscars was heroes, in case you couldn't tell from that montage of superhero films in the middle of the broadcast, and apparently there was going to be a segment in which Garfield would induct Scott as an official superhero. The segment probably would've caused plenty of tears as the 5-year-old cancer patient received such an honor in front of a room full of celebrities, but supposedly, it was all cancelled because Garfield's threw a tantrum during rehearsals, right in front of Scott's family.

However, the more official explanation (other than Garfield's alleged diva meltdown) is that the segment just wasn't working and was cut. According to an Academy spokesperson, it didn't fit "the fluid nature of live TV production." But if that's true, that still doesn't explain Garfield's absence. The Amazing Spider-Man actor was completely replaced by Captain America's Chris Evans, which kind of makes both explanations confusing.

If the segment was cancelled because Garfield refused to do it, why wouldn't Evans have just inducted Scott? He plays a well-known superhero too, and surely would've been willing to be a part of something so special. Yet at the same time, if the segment was cut because it just didn't work, why wouldn't Garfield have stayed on as a presenter?

Apparently, even Scott's mother isn't sure of what happened, saying, "I don’t know if they ran out of time, or if there was something about the segment they didn’t like. It got pulled so quickly that we didn’t have a lot of insight into what was going on."

No matter the reason, it's pretty disappointing that Scott and the audience had to miss out on what would've been an adorable moment. I'm sure anyone watching would've preferred the Batkid induction to Darlene Love's spontaneous performance.