The 2026 Academy Award nominations included several familiar faces from among the Marvel Studios cohort. The MCU released three films in 2025 (Thunderbolts*, Captain America: Brave New World, and The Fantastic Four: First Steps), but none of them earned an Oscar nomination this year. However, several of Marvel's past creatives worked on nominated films in 2025, shining a spotlight on the talent that's been through the MCU.
Superhero films have traditionally struggled to gain recognition at Hollywood's major awards ceremonies. However, that hasn't stopped the MCU's broad roster of talented directors, stars, and creatives from achieving awards success on other projects. In 2026, several ex-Marvel stars and crew are once again in the running for an Oscar win.
One of the major films in competition this year is Sinners (which broke the record for most Oscar nominations), and it features several Marvel alumni. Ryan Coogler, the director of Black Panther and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (which were both MCU Oscar-nominated films), is up for multiple awards as the creator of the supernatural film, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Screenplay. The director's time is likely not over in the MCU either, as he's returning to work on Black Panther 3.
The Sinners award-nominated cohort also includes several former MCU members. Michael B. Jordan, the MCU's Killmonger from the Black Panther franchise, is nominated for Best Lead Actor for his role as the Smokestack twins, and his co-star, Wunmi Mosaku, who starred in Loki as Hunter B-15, is up for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Annie.
Thanks to Sinners' many nominations and Coogler's firm creative team, many of his crew from the Black Panther films are also up for awards for Sinners. Ludwig Goransson previously won one of the MCU's only Oscars for his work on Black Panther's score, and he is once again in the running for Best Original Score for Sinners. Goransson also famously worked on the music for The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett in the Star Wars universe.
Other Marvel Studios Oscar wins came from Black Panther's Costume and Production Design. Both Ruth E. Carter and Hannah Beachler are up for Oscars again in 2026 for their work on Sinners, who previously won Academy Awards for Best Costume Design and Best Production Design, respectively.
Also carrying over with Coogler from the MCU to Sinners is Autumn Durald Arkapaw, who worked on Black Panther: Wakanda Forever and is now nominated for Best Cinematography in 2026. Similarly, Coogler's longtime collaborator, Michael Shawver, is nominated for Best Editing for Sinners. Ken Diaz, who worked with Coogler on Black Panther, is also nominated for Best Makeup and Hairstyling for Sinners.
Elsewhere, another major MCU alumna is up for her second Oscar nomination. Chloé Zhao, who directed Eternals for Marvel after her Oscar win for Nomadland, is back on the awards circuit with a Best Director nomination for Hamnet.
Another movie garnering award attention this year is One Battle After Another, which features Benicio del Toro. Known to MCU fans in Thor: The Dark World and Guardians of the Galaxy as the Collector, del Toro is up for Best Supporting Actor in 2026 for his role as Sergio St. Carlos in One Battle After Another. Michael Bauman, who was a gaffer on Iron Man and Iron Man 2, is also up for Best Cinematography for One Battle After Another.
From other corners of the MCU, Ethan Hawke, who starred in the Disney+ series Moon Knight as Arthur Harrow, is up for Best Lead Actor for his role in Blue Moon, and Stellan Skarsgård, who starred in multiple Thor films as Dr. Erik Selvig, is nominated for Best Supporting Actor in Sentimental Value.
In the sound department, Gareth John (Eternals), Al Nelson (Captain Marvel), Gwendolyn Yates Whittle (WandaVision), Gary A. Rizzo (Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3), and Juan Peralta (Avengers: Endgame) are nominated for F1, Tony Villaflor (Doctor Stange in the Multiverse of Madness) is nominated for One Battle After Another, and Felipe Pacheco, Brandon Proctor, and Steve Boeddeker from Black Panther: Wakanda Forever are up for Sinners.
Best Visual Effects is typically a category in which the MCU shines, but despite no Marvel Studios films making it into the shortlist this year, plenty of previous MCU VFX artists, including Joe Letteri (Avatar: Fire and Ash), Nicolas Chevallier (F1), Robert Harrington (F1), Keith Dawson (F1), Charmaine Chan (Jurassic World: Rebirth), Neil Corbould (Jurassic World: Rebirth), Michael Ralla (Sinners), Espen Nordahl (Sinners), and Guido Wolter (Sinners), were all nominated for their 2025 films.
The full list of MCU alumni nominated at the Academy Awards in 2026 includes:
- Michael B. Jordan (Best Lead Actor - Sinners)
- Ryan Coogler (Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay - Sinners)
- Chloé Zhao (Best Director - Hamnet)
- Wunmi Mosaku (Best Supporting Actress - Sinners)
- Ethan Hawke (Best Lead Actor - Blue Moon)
- Stellan Skarsgard (Best Supporting Actor - Sentimental Value)
- Benicio del Toro (Best Supporting Actor - One Battle After Another)
- Ludwig Goransson (Best Original Score - Sinners)
- Ruth E. Carter (Best Costume Design - Sinners)
- Autumn Durald Arkapaw (Best Cinematography - Sinners)
- Michael Shawver (Best Editing - Sinners)
- Hannah Beachler (Best Production Design - Sinners)
- Ken Diaz (Best Makeup and Hairstyling - Sinners)
- Michael Bauman (Best Cinematography - One Battle After Another)
- Gareth John, Al Nelson, Gwendolyn Yates Whittle, Gary A. Rizzo (Best Sound - F1)
- Tony Villaflor (Best Sound - One Battle After Another)
- Felipe Pacheco, Brandon Proctor, Steve Boeddeke (Best Sound - Sinners)
- Joe Letteri (Best Visual Effects - Avatar: Fire and Ash)
- Nicolas Chevallier, Robert Harrington, Keith Dawson (Best Visual Effects - F1)
- Charmaine Chan, Neil Corbould (Best Visual Effects - Jurassic World: Rebirth)
- Michael Ralla, Espen Nordahl, Guido Wolter (Best Visual Effects - Sinners),
The 98th Academy Awards winners will be announced on Sunday, March 15, 2026.
