The nominations for the Oscars 2018 have been revealed. As a result, we now know that Logan has been nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay, which is one of the more prestigious Oscars that are handed out on an annual basis. As for why Logan was nominated for the Best Adapted Screenplay rather than the Best Original Screenplay, this is because it was based to a significant extent on the comic book character called Old Man Logan, who is an aged Wolverine living in a timeline in which most of the superheroes have been killed off by the supervillains.
What Does This Mean?
The choice to nominate Logan for Best Adapted Screenplay is interesting because it is a significant contrast from the previous treatment of superhero movies by the Oscars. Simply put, the Oscars tend to nominate superhero movies for technical Oscars but not for the more prestigious Oscars out there, so much so that some people have complained about an intentional pattern of snubbing. This is supported to some extent by the fact that even The Dark Knight managed no more than Best Supporting Actor as well as Best Sound Editing, which was rather notable because said movie tends to be regarded as one of the best superhero movies to have ever been made. As a result, the choice to nominate Logan for one of the more prestigious Oscar is interesting because it suggests that the Oscars might be warming up to superhero movies as a whole. Even if it fails to secure the Oscar in the end, the fact that it managed to secure a nomination is nonetheless a step forward for it as well as other movies like it.
As for whether Logan deserves to win the Best Adapted Screenplay, that is a much more complicated issue because there is no simple and straightforward method for determining merit in this case, meaning that there is a fair amount of room for personal biases to take effect. Still, if Logan does manage to secure the Oscar, it can’t be said that it will have been undeserved.
In part, this is because Logan expanded the scope of what was possible with superhero movies. For proof, look no further than the sheer number of people who have either called it a western or pointed out its western influences, not least because its plot has little resemblance to the thought that comes to mind for people when the phrase “superhero movie” comes up. As a result, the success of Logan promises to encourage the making of a wider range of movies involving superheroes in the future, as shown by the fact that The New Mutants movie will be a horror movie of all things. However, it should also be noted that Logan‘s plot was more than capable of standing on its own, serving as a neat rebuttal to the idea that superhero movies are reliant on their source material for their successes. Summed up, whether Logan will secure the Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay or not, there can be no doubt that its nomination is a sensible choice.
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