Could Black Panther be the one to break the Oscar duck for comic book movies? Christopher Nolan certainly thinks so.
While attending the 90th Academy Awards this past weekend, the Dunkirk helmer and all-around cinematic visionary thrust his support behind T’Challa’s solo adventure on the belief that it’ll be “among the Best Picture nominees” of 2019.
No other comic book movie – not even The Dark Knight – has achieved such a feat, and the fact that a director of Nolan’s prestige has backed Black Panther to be in the running for Best Picture only fills us with a palpable sense of enthusiasm. Just imagine how Ryan Coogler feels.
Indeed, as we reported late last night, Disney is said to be preparing a huge Oscar campaign for Black Panther and Mary Poppins Returns, which seemingly boasts a phenomenal performance from Emily Blunt, who assumed the role made famous by Julie Andrews.
For Black Panther, the sky’s the limit, really. It’s no secret that Academy voters tend to overlook mass-market popcorn movies – with the exception of Heath Ledger’s posthumous win for Best Supporting Actor – but it’s looking increasingly likely that Ryan Coogler’s epic will be the one to rewrite the rulebook and prove that, yes, comic book movies can be just as competent and provocative as their cinematic peers.
Arise, T’Challa, king of the 2019 Oscars? It’s certainly not outside the realm of possibility, as Black Panther has been hailed as a true game-changer since its release back in February. The film’s box office tally is equally impressive, particularly now that the standalone Marvel pic has muscled its way into the top 10 highest-grossing movies of all time in North America with $506.4 million – just shy of The Dark Knight‘s own domestic haul of $534 million.
