The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced nominations for the 95th Academy Awards on Tuesday, Jan. 24, and there were moments of pure delight and some major disappointments. People like Viola Davis and Danielle Deadwyler were snubbed in the Best Actress category, while James Cameron got no love for his groundbreaking directing on Avatar: The Way of Water. Top Gun: Maverick got more love than expected, and Marvel received its first acting nomination thanks to the incredible talents of the one and only, Angela Bassett, for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.
Everything Everywhere All at Once is leading the charge with 11 nominations—which is a surprise to no one who has seen it—but it is still admirable to see the film become a darling this awards season. Some talent was recognized for the first time by the Academy this year, including Rihanna, Brian Tyree Henry, and Ana de Armas. Check out our key takeaways from the nominations below before the ceremony, which will take place on March 12 at 8 p.m.
Angela Bassett is Marvel's first acting Oscar nominee
Angela Bassett’s performance as Queen Ramonda in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever absolutely floored me, and the Academy’s voters agree. Bassett landed a Best Supporting Actress nomination for the role, making it the first time an acting performance in a Marvel movie has been recognized at the Oscars. It only took 15 years and 30 films for an actor from the Marvel Cinematic Universe to receive a nomination and if anyone was going to get the job done it was going to be her.
There were several scenes throughout the sequel that left me sure that a nomination was in the cards for her, especially the scene of her at the United Nations as well as her powerful speech to Okoye (Danai Gurira) after Shuri (Letitia Wright) gets kidnapped. Those two moments alone make her deserving of this award, and as much as we loved Stephanie Hsu’s performance in Everything Everywhere All At Once, this one belongs to Bassett to honor her contributions to the MCU and Hollywood as a whole. This is her first Oscars nomination since 1993 when she received one for Best Actress for her role in What’s Love Got to Do with It—so it’s up to the Academy to do the right thing.