It was clear from the first reviews of Black Panther that Ryan Coogler’s film would be dealing with new levels of prestige previously unheard of for MCU entries, and now that the National Board of Review has named the Chadwick Boseman-led flick as one of the highlights of 2018 cinema, you have to wonder what further recognition could be in store as awards season moves forward.
The New York-based film enthusiasts collective honored T’Challa’s first standalone release with a place among their ten picks for the year’s “Top Films,” with the rest of the list being filled out by The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, Can You Ever Forgive Me?, Eighth Grade, First Reformed, If Beale Street Could Talk, Mary Poppins Returns, A Quiet Place, Roma, and A Star Is Born. The NBR’s award for Best Film, meanwhile, went to Peter Farrelly’s comedy-drama Green Book.
At this rate, Black Panther’s chances of earning some major nominations at the Academy Awards are looking pretty respectable. The movie’s currently being pushed for Oscar categories across the board, including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Screenplay, and while the Academy has a long history of relegating MCU releases to the technical categories at best, Coogler’s acclaimed work may well have the momentum it needs to buck the trend.
Of course, after the extraordinary year that this film’s already had, Black Panther probably doesn’t need any further awards recognition to be regarded as a pretty big deal, with actor Michael B. Jordan himself mentioning just a few days ago that some Academy nods would simply be the “amazing icing on the cake.” And regardless of how many accolades are still to come, it’s clear that Coogler will have to contend with some lofty expectations when he starts work on the sequel.
