As Marvel Studios moves into 2022, the team behind the MCU is heavily promoting the return of its 26th movie Eternals which will begin streaming on Disney+ on January 12. Featuring one of the MCU's most high-profile casts in history with names like Salma Hayek and Angelina Jolie, Phase 4's third movie made quite the impact on the superhero movie genre upon its November debut - so much so that Disney is launching an Oscars campaign to further promote the flick.
As was the case with all of Marvel Studios' 2021 movies, Eternals found a place at the top of the box office charts with the fifth-highest domestic opening weekend of the year, fighting off widely mixed reviews the entire way through. Director Chloé Zhao and Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige have urged fans to see for themselves how good the film is, and they should see plenty of airtime once it begins streaming.
Part of Eternals' theatrical run that hasn't seen much discussion in some time is its potential Oscar campaign for which Marvel will see the results this coming March. Now, Disney is beginning its official crusade for the Academy Awards by announcing who they hope will be in the running for entertainment's most prestigious prizes.
Disney Starts Eternals' Oscars Campaign
Disney has officially published its "For Your Consideration" page for Marvel Studios' Eternals during the 2022 awards campaign.
The list features names in nearly every Oscars category, including Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige as producer for Best Picture and Chloé Zhao for Best Director. Also listed are stars like Angelina Jolie and Salma Hayek for Best Supporting Actress and Richard Madden for Best Actor.
The full list can be seen below:
BEST PICTURE
Kevin Feige, p.g.a.
Nate Moore, p.g.a.
BEST DIRECTOR
Chloé Zhao
BEST ACTRESS
Gemma Chan
BEST ACTOR
Richard Madden
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Lia McHugh
Lauren Ridloff
Salma Hayek
Angelina Jolie
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Kumail Nanjiani
Brian Tyree Henry
Barry Keoghan
Don Lee
Kit Harington
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Chloé Zhao, Patrick Burleigh, Ryan Firpo, Kaz Firpo
Story By: Ryan Firpo, Kaz Firpo
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Ben Davis, BSC
BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
Production Designer: Eve Stewart
Set Decorator: Michael Standish
BEST SOUND
Addison Teague, Daniel Laurie, Lora Hirschberg, Juan Peralta, Gareth John
BEST FILM EDITING
Craig Wood, ACE, Dylan Tichenor, ACE
BEST COSTUME DESIGN
Sammy Sheldon Differ
BEST MAKEUP & HAIRSTYLING
Frances Hannon, Karen Cohen
BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
Stephane Ceretti, Matt Aitken, Daniele Bigi, Neil Corbould
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
Ramin Djawadi
Which Oscars Will Eternals Win?
Before Eternals was released in theaters, Disney and Marvel were hoping that it would be one of the MCU's best contenders for Oscar awards after 2018's Black Panther opened the door to that possibility. Unfortunately, widely mixed reviews and somewhat underwhelming public reception seemed to make that possibility slimmer, although Marvel is still putting its best effort forward in this arena.
Although Disney and Marvel offered names in fourteen categories for the 2022 Academy Awards, there likely won't be many that actually earn nominations for award contention in March. The best chances come in the Best Visual Effects category, where Marvel Studios boasts ten movies with past nominations. It's particularly difficult to pick out which other actors and personnel will have the best opportunity to win elsewhere considering the stacked competition from 2021.
Feige has spoken highly of Chloe Zhao's directorial efforts on this movie, and stars like Jolie and Hayek made their mark in the acting department. However, with the MCU's only nominations outside of VFX awards comimg from Iron Man, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, and Black Panther, it seems unlikely that Eternals will buck that trend in 2022.
No matter what comes of this campaign, Marvel and Disney are looking to give Eternals every chance possible to take home some major hardware, particularly as the movie becomes available for fans worldwide to watch at home.
Eternals will begin streaming on Disney+ on January 12.
