Coming off a lackluster 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the entertainment industry has made a fierce comeback in 2021. When specifically looking at the comic book world, the two heavy hitters of Marvel and DC have especially hit the ground running once again.
On the Marvel side of the spectrum, the MCU opened the calendar year with the studio's first Disney+ series, WandaVision, and was then followed by The Falcon and the Winter Soldier as well as Loki.
As far as theatrical releases go, the MCU truly got to crank the gears of the franchise's Phase 4 with the premiere of Black Widow in July, along with Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings coming a couple of months later. The studio will be releasing two more films as the year winds down, with Eternals hitting theaters in November and Spider-Man: No Way Home premiering a month later.
DC's 2021 slate was a little less crowded, with it only releasing two films during the course of the year, but both were huge installments for the extended universe. The long-awaited Snyder Cut of 2016's Justice League was finally given to the fans in March via HBO Max, and following its huge success on the streaming platform, DC also delivered The Suicide Squad, its most ambitious movie to date.
The People's Choice Awards are quickly approaching in December, and with a dominant outing from the comic book industry during the calendar year, the film categories unsurprisingly include many of these projects.
Marvel & DC's People's Choice Award Nominations
Every nomination for the People's Choice Awards that will air on December 7, 2021 has been officially revealed. The awards show showcases a wide variety of different categories, with 25 of the 40 being geared toward movies and TV. The nominees for the awards are only voted on by the public, giving fans a chance to make their voices heard.
In the film categories, Black Widow boasts a total of six nominations, which include The Movie of 2021, the show's most prestigious award. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings follows closely behind with five total nominations, competing against Black Widow for The Movie of 2021.
DC is also on the board with The Suicide Squad, as it is nominated for The Action Movie of 2021 along with Margot Robbie for her work as Harley Quinn for The Female Movie Star of 2021.
Voting for the People's Choice Awards is officially open and ends on Wednesday, November 17. Voting can be done online or via Twitter.
The full list of Marvel and DC's film nominations can be seen below:
THE MOVIE OF 2021
- Black Widow
- Coming 2 America
- F9: The Fast Saga
- Dune
- No Time To Die
- Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
- The Tomorrow War
- Venom: Let There Be Carnage
THE ACTION MOVIE OF 2021
- Black Widow
- F9: The Fast Saga
- Godzilla vs. Kong
- No Time To Die
- Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
- The Suicide Squad
- The Tomorrow War
- Venom: Let There Be Carnage
THE MALE MOVIE STAR OF 2021
- Chris Pratt, The Tomorrow War
- Daniel Craig, No Time To Die
- Dwayne Johnson, Jungle Cruise
- Eddie Murphy, Coming 2 America
- John Cena, F9: The Fast Saga
- Ryan Reynolds, Free Guy
- Simu Liu, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
- Vin Diesel, F9: The Fast Saga
THE FEMALE MOVIE STAR OF 2021
- Awkwafina, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
- Charlize Theron, F9: The Fast Saga
- Florence Pugh, Black Widow
- Jennifer Hudson, Respect
- Leslie Jones, Coming 2 America
- Margot Robbie, The Suicide Squad
- Salma Hayek, Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard
- Scarlett Johansson, Black Widow
THE ACTION MOVIE STAR OF 2021
- Charlize Theron, F9: The Fast Saga
- Chris Pratt, The Tomorrow War
- Daniel Craig, No Time To Die
- Florence Pugh, Black Widow
- John Cena, F9: The Fast Saga
- Scarlett Johansson, Black Widow
- Simu Liu, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
- Vin Diesel, F9: The Fast Saga
The two comic book franchises are also making their presence known in multiple TV categories. Loki leads all competing shows with five nominations. WandaVision, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, and even Superman & Lois have also been put on the ballot.
The full list of Marvel and DC's TV nominations can be seen below:
THE SHOW OF 2021
- Cobra Kai
- Grey’s Anatomy
- Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
- Loki
- Saturday Night Live
- The Bachelor
- This Is Us
- WandaVision
THE MALE TV STAR OF 2021
- Anthony Mackie, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier
- Chase Stokes, Outer Banks
- Dwayne Johnson, Young Rock
- Jason Sudeikis, Ted Lasso
- Kenan Thompson, Saturday Night Live
- Norman Reedus, The Walking Dead
- Sterling K. Brown, This Is Us
- Tom Hiddleston, Loki
THE FEMALE TV STAR OF 2021
- Angela Bassett, 9-1-1
- Elizabeth Olsen, WandaVision
- Ellen Pompeo, Grey’s Anatomy
- Kathryn Hahn, WandaVision
- Mandy Moore, This Is Us
- Mariska Hargitay, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
- Queen Latifah, The Equalizer
- Yara Shahidi, Grown-ish
THE BINGEWORTHY SHOW OF 2021
- Cobra Kai
- Loki
- Mare of Easttown
- Outer Banks
- Sex/Life
- Squid Game
- Ted Lasso
- The White Lotus
THE SCI-FI/FANTASY SHOW OF 2021
- Loki
- Lucifer
- La Brea
- Shadow and Bone
- Superman and Lois
- The Falcon and the Winter Soldier
- The Flash
- WandaVision
Comic Book Domination
It isn't surprising that the comic book industry netted a multitude of nominations for the People's Choice Awards. There is a reason that the MCU and the DCU make as much money as they do, and it won't be a shock if a lot of these categories have a comic book winner.
The Oscars have a famous reputation for not including comic book movies on its awards show ballots, so it is nice to see that these projects will get some support from the opinions that matter the most - the people.
All of the nominees that aren't a part of Marvel or DC can be thankful that Eternals and Spider-Man: No Way Home don't qualify to be nominated, otherwise there would be even fewer spots available on the ballot.
With the awards show coming in December, fans won't have to wait long to see if their favorite MCU or DC projects win any awards. It is likely that at least a few films or series will be able to beat their competitors and win a couple of awards.
The People's Choice Awards will air on December 7, 2021.
