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Batkid didn’t make a surprise appearance at the Oscars, but five-year-old Miles Scott and his family did earn a trip to Disneyland with Spider-Man star Andrew Garfield.
After it was revealed on Wednesday that Scott, as Batkid, was originally scheduled to appear during the Ellen DeGeneres-hosted 86th Academy Awards ceremony, speculation mounted about why the segment was canceled.
“Due to the nature of a live show, hard decisions sometimes must be made which require the Academy to cut segments due to the logistics of production,” the Academy elaborated in a Thursday statement on the subject. “Andrew Garfield understood that his segment had to be omitted, and he drove to Disneyland on Monday to spend time with 5-year-old Miles Scott (Batkid) and his family.”
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Sources had previously told The Hollywood Reporter that Miles had rehearsed the segment with Garfield but it was cut from the show as part of the production process. The Oscars had a movie heroes theme, and other actors who play superheroes, such as Captain America‘s Chris Evans, appeared during the ceremony.
Garfield’s representative e-mailed a statement to THR on Thursday, explaining the change of plans and the Disney day out.
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“In full collaboration with the Academy and the show writer, Andrew prepared a segment for the Oscars to honor Miles Scott as the true hero that he is. As some point overnight on Saturday/Sunday morning, it was decided by those running the show that the segment didn’t work in the ceremony. They decided to pull it — Andrew and Miles were equally upset. The producers arranged for Miles and his family to visit Disneyland on Monday and Andrew drove down to visit them and to bring Miles a personal gift.”
“Andrew did the right thing for Batkid and anyone saying otherwise is flat out lying,” the statement concluded.
Miles Scott became Batkid for a day in San Francisco on Nov. 15 of last year as part of a Make-A-Wish Foundation event. Many civic organizations participated, and Batkid’s S.F. tour garnered attention from many news organizations and users on social media. President Barack Obama had even wished Miles well at the time.
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