Logan, The Last Jedi And Thor: Ragnarok Headline Oscar Shortlist For Best Visual Effects

The crusade for Logan to be nominated for (and perhaps win?) an Academy Award just took a major step forward.

Per Deadline, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has cherry-picked 20 – count ’em, 20 – films to move forward in the Visual Effects category ahead of the 90th Academy Awards. Among the budding nominees are Beauty and the Beast, Wonder Woman, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Spider-Man Homecoming, Logan and the visually spectacular Blade Runner 2049, which has undoubtedly emerged as the one to beat when it comes to Best VFX.

The preliminary shortlist also features two films that have yet to hit theaters – namely Star Wars: The Last Jedi (December 15th) and Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (December 20th) – so it’ll be interesting to find out if they factor into the Academy’s voting process when it occurs later this month. When all votes have been cast, the company will then name 10 films on January 23rd, which will go on to receive Oscar nominations for their visual effects.

The full list of candidates vying for the VFX Oscar is as follows:

Alien: Covenant
Beauty and the Beast
Blade Runner 2049
Dunkirk
Ghost in the Shell
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle
Justice League
Kong: Skull Island
Life
Logan

Alien: Covenant and Kong: Skull Island are both worthy candidates, too, while Justice League also received a nod for its own VFX achievement. The real question is, of course, which of these movies will make the cut on January 23rd. Only 10 can proceed to the final stage, so place your bets.

Here are the remaining Oscar hopefuls:

Okja
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales
The Shape of Water
Spider-Man Homecoming
Star Wars: The Last Jedi
Thor: Ragnarok
Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets
War for the Planet of the Apes
Wonder Woman

Every single nomination for the 90th Oscars will be unveiled on January 23rd. Once that formality is out in the open, and moviegoers begin campaigning for their film of choice, the Academy will then roll out the red carpet on Sunday, March 4th, when the official ceremony will begin a little earlier than usual: 8:00 pm EST/5:00 pm PST.

But tell us, what are your thoughts on this preliminary shortlist? Indeed, are there any notable oversights? And perhaps most important of all, is this Logan‘s best chance at an Oscar? You can, as always, drop your thoughts and predictions down below.