How ‘Black Panther’ Will Change the Superhero Industry Forever

Annlyel explores the acceptance of Comic Book movies into the most prestigious award ceremonies in Hollywood.

On January 22nd the Oscar Nominations were announced. There were the expected nominees for Best Picture such as A Star Is Born, Bohemian Rhapsody, Vice, The Favourite, but one film that I figured probably wouldn’t get nominated was yours truly, Black Panther. When it became one of the eight nominated movies for Best Picture my jaw dropped.

It had actually come true. Black Panther had made history yet again. I was already thrilled at the film’s nomination during the Golden Globes but this was the next level of awesome. And what makes this all the more thrilling is what it means for the superhero industry moving forward.

There was a time when a superhero film would’ve never garnered nominations for big time awards like the Golden Globes or the Oscars unless it had something to do with visual effects, sound, or potentially a nomination for Best Original Score.

Last year the superhero movie, Logan, helped changed that narrative by becoming the first superhero film nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay and this year Black Panther has upped that accomplishment by garnering seven Oscar nominations, including Best Picture. And don’t forget Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse which is most likely to win for Best Animated Film.

For a while superhero movies have been regarded by the Hollywood elite as mere popcorn flicks but that’s an unfair assessment. Why do we have multiple superhero movies every year now? These films don’t make money just because they involve relatively good looking actors and actresses wearing cool outfits, obtaining incredible superpowers, and fighting bad guys. They make money because they’re legitimately good films.

There are, of course, those mediocre superhero films like Venom which make a baffling amount of money despite the fact that the film is clearly not that great. But then again, that’s just my opinion. Money talks and there were clearly a bunch of people who enjoyed Venom thoroughly, to the point where there is already a sequel in the works.

And then there are those groundbreaking superhero movies that change the world like The Dark Knight, Iron Man, The Avengers, etc. These superhero films impact society and the industry they inhabit in ways that you won’t soon forget. And Hollywood is beginning to understand that. If Hollywood was as open to change in 2008 as it is today could we have potentially seen The Dark Knight and Iron Man up for Best Picture? Both of these films have been heralded as some of the greatest superhero movies of all time so why wouldn’t they be considered for a bit of well-deserved recognition.

This leads me to the present day. Now we live in an age when a superhero movie can be recognized for its greatness and will be rewarded justly. That means writers will begin to work harder to tell impactful stories in these films because now they could possibly get rewarded highly for their work. And this also gives hope to every other great popcorn flick that comes out in the future.

Heck, who knows. Maybe one day we’ll finally get to see a Star Wars film nominated for Best Picture. After Black Panther‘s nomination, anything is possible, a fact accentuated by its fantastic win for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture award at the Screen Actors Guild awards.

Wakanda Forever!

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Annlyel James

Annlyel James is a Senior Correspondent of The Future of the Force. She is passionate about Star Wars and Marvel but loves a wide variety of movie genres. Aside from her role with Future of the Force she also writes for her blog: annlyelonline. Follow her on Twitter where she channels the Force frequently!