Spider-Man: No Way Home remains the hot topic of the blockbuster movie community as fans eagerly await the threequel's home release in the next few weeks. This comes on top of an intriguing run in the awards circuit, which is now chugging along into the 2022 Academy Awards. Some fans believe that No Way Home was snubbed by The Academy, only being nominated for one Oscar for Best VFX. However, it's among the leaders for two newly introduced fan awards that will be announced at the ceremony.
Although there are rare exceptions, like The Dark Knight and Black Panther, superhero movies have largely been left out of cinema's biggest awards for reasons still unknown. Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige has expressed his feelings on what he sees as a bias against the genre, particularly with No Way Home making the kind of impact it's made over the past year.
On top of Feige's comments about the voting process as a whole, Spider-Man star Andrew Garfield expressed his own disappointment at No Way Home being snubbed for any major gold trophies. Now, another former Spider-Man star has shared his own thoughts on the matter, even suggesting what the Oscars should do to fix the problem.
Samuel L. Jackson on Spider-Man's Oscars Run
British outlet The Times spoke with MCU star Samuel L. Jackson about Spider-Man: No Way Home deserving more shine at major ceremonies like the Academy Awards. Specifically, Jackson wants more of a spotlight placed on movies that get "asses in seats."
Jackson criticized the Oscars for not recognizing the films that keep the movie industry alive, advocating The Academy to create a real award for the "most popular movie." Tying this back to No Way Home, the man behind Nick Fury praised the Spidey threequel for bringing fans back to the theaters more than any movie has in a long time:
“They should have an Oscar for the most popular movie. Because that’s what the business is about. It did what movies did forever — it got people to a big dark room.”
Looking beyond superhero movies, Jackson made it clear that all movies and genres deserve validation for their merits. He also tied it back to specific actors being more recognizable for their work than others:
“All movies are valid. Some go to the cinema to be moved dearly. Some like superheroes. If somebody has more butts on seats it just means your audience is not as broad. There are people who have had successful careers but nobody can recite one line of their parts. I’m the guy who says shit that’s on a T-shirt.”
Nick Fury Shows Love to Spider-Man 3
Samuel L. Jackson is no stranger to being a part of widely popular movies over the years, both in and out of the MCU. He also has a history with the Spider-Man franchise, having played Nick Fury in 2019's Spider-Man: Far From Home, even though it turned out to be the Skrull Talos in disguise.
Now, he's trying to use his own platform as an attempt to get the movies like the ones he's made into an awards spotlight that hasn't been very kind in recent memory.
The bottom line is that Jackson sees plenty of merit for movies that bring people to the theaters, which is exactly what the MCU has proven to be great at in its 14 years on the big screen. While No Way Home took that success to new heights in this day and age, Marvel Studios' movies always find themselves near the top of the box office charts and generally earn great reviews in the process.
For the time being, the Oscars' only attempt to remedy this issue comes with the "Oscars Fan Favorite" award and the "Movies Cheer Moment", both of which Spider-Man 3 is in the running for. Hopefully, there will come a time when the superhero genre earns more recognition in this regard, especially with how much the genre is set to expand in the coming years.
For now, Spider-Man: No Way Home is prepping for its home release on March 22.
