Black Panther once again made history when it became the first superhero movie to earn an Academy Award nomination for Best Picture. Although it faces some stiff competition against seven other films in this year’s ceremony, the nomination further solidifies the genre’s capacity to be more than just action-oriented popcorn fare. This notion wasn’t lost on several of the film’s cast and crew members, who chimed in with their two cents in the wake of this morning’s announcement.
Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige, now an Oscar-nominated producer, told The Hollywood Reporter that the Best Picture nod represents “the highest form of recognition from our peers.” He added, “To see an individual like Ryan Coogler — who had something to say, who had a story, who had a vision, who had questions about his life and his background — to put all of that into a story that resonates the way this film does was incredible.”
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We’ve yet to see any feedback from Coogler or star Chadwick Boseman. However, two of Black Panther’s leading ladies, Lupita Nyong’o (Nakia) and Letitia Wright (Shuri) shared their responses on Twitter. Nyong’o used the occasion to share a video of the cast and crew’s first time seeing footage from the film at San Diego Comic-Con in 2017. You can check out both of their tweets below.
Seven #OscarNoms for #BlackPanther, including best picture!! This is our reaction the first time we saw footage from the film and we’re feeling this way all over again today! Thank you @TheAcademy! #WakandaForever #Oscars pic.twitter.com/lXWv3nsN90
— Lupita Nyong’o (@Lupita_Nyongo) January 22, 2019
History was made again this morning. 7 #OscarNominations including Best Picture! God is truly amazing.
Thank you all for the love and support. Honestly we made this movie out of love and wanted to inspire the world with it.
Thank you!@TheAcademy @theblackpanther #Oscars pic.twitter.com/vP5tDDB2yS
— Letitia Wright (@letitiawright) January 22, 2019
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In a show of solidarity with their MCU compatriots, Chris Evans and Mark Ruffalo offered their own congratulations to the film’s stars:
Amazing!!! Congrats to everyone involved!!! Well deserved. https://t.co/DXBoyKTyIv
— Chris Evans (@ChrisEvans) January 22, 2019
Proud to be a part of this @Avengers family & congrats to the #BlackPanther team! #OscarNoms pic.twitter.com/Ji8vfPLRMi
— Mark Ruffalo (@MarkRuffalo) January 22, 2019
Black Panther reportedly launched additional campaigns for recognition in the Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Actor categories. The film was unfortunately snubbed in those categories. Nevertheless, it still landed six other nominations that would look great on a Blu-ray case. When the ceremony airs next month, Black Panther will compete for Best Costume Design, Production Design, and Sound Mixing. The film’s music was also recognized with nominations for Ludwig Göransson’s score and Kendrick Lamar and SZA’s “All the Stars.”
The Academy Awards will air on Sunday, February 24 on ABC. Share your thoughts on the stars’ reactions and speculate on the film’s chances of winning in the comment section below!
