We’re in the thick of it with awards season right now, as Moonlight, La La Land, Manchester by the Sea, Arrival, Hidden Figures, Silence and more vie for the top prizes of the year. But Ryan Reynolds is already looking ahead, as he believes Logan will do gangbusters during the next awards season. In fact, the actor/producer behind Deadpool thinks it might even end up as a future Oscar contender.
In an interview with Variety, Reynolds, who is currently a Golden Globe nominee for Deadpool, took the opportunity to continue singing the praises of director James Mangold’s (The Wolverine) latest spin with the grizzled superhero character, which is set to be the last featuring Hugh Jackman in the lead role. If the darker, meaner, R-rated superhero film is as good as he thinks it’ll be, based on what he’s seen, it’s going to make a hell of an impression during the next awards cycle.
“Logan looks like a movie that might break that glass ceiling. I know first-hand that it’s amazing. I’ve seen some of it. It’s mind-blowing. It relies a lot on character,” said Reynolds.
That’s some high praise, and thankfully we don’t have to wait too long to see if it lives up to those lofty expectations. The promotional material for Logan have been nothing short of exceptional, and while trailers can prove to be misleading, Deadpool certainly lived up to its expectations, and we sure as hell hope that we’re going to say the same for the newest, darkest X-Men movie.
A Western-influenced character drama isn’t necessarily out of the Oscars’ wheelhouse, admittedly, yet they don’t often feature metal clawed mutants. If Reynolds is speaking the truth, however, Logan would be the first superhero movie in nine years to earn the affections of the Academy Awards, after 2008’s masterful The Dark Knight. And even that didn’t earn a Best Picture nomination — which is still downright criminal if you ask movie fans both young and old.
Whether an Oscar contender, an absolute dud, or something in between, we’ll find out how Logan fares when it claws its way into theaters everywhere on March 3rd. Aside from Jackman, it’ll star Patrick Stewart, Richard E. Grant, Boyd Holbrook, Stephen Merchant, Dafne Keen, Eriq La Salle, Elise Neal and Elizabeth Rodriguez.