On January 14, it finally happened: The 2016 Oscar nominations were announced in Los Angeles, California. Though, like always, there were some snubs (this is unavoidable — there are a limited number of nomination spots, after all!) all of the nominees this year definitely deserved the recognition they received, and I, for one, cannot wait to see who is named winner of each category in February 2016. That said, though, there was one curious trend I noted when the nominations were announced on Thursday morning: There were a surprising number of superheroes nominated for Oscars in 2016. Not, like, real superheroes, because that would be weird an probably worthy of a whole other news post — but, like, actors who have played superheroes in superhero movies. Trust me, there are quite a few, and it's weird.
It might just speak to the fact that, these days, there are just so many superhero films and TV shows out there, it's hard to find an actor who hasn't participated in one — or, it might just speak to the fact that The Academy secretly really loves Batman, IDK. Either way, it was a total trend on Oscar nominatons morning 2016, and if you don't believe me, just look at the proof:
Tom Hardy, The Revenant
... yeah, OK, I know he was Bane in The Dark Knight Rises, and Bane was a villain, but STILL. Counts.
Mark Ruffalo, Spotlight
The Hulk himself received an Oscar nomination on Jan. 14, and he was probably very happy about it. I doubt he hulked out at all.
Christian Bale, The Big Short
Uh, it's Batman. If there was ever a superhero, it's this guy.
Rachel McAdams, Spotlight
So, it's not exactly confirmed who McAdams will be portraying in the upcoming Doctor Strange film, but it is confirmed that she will be appearing in the upcoming Doctor Strange film alongside Benedict Cumberbatch, which is very much a superhero movie.
Jennifer Jason Leigh, The Hateful Eight
OK, so she just voiced a superhero character named Cetea in one episode of Superman: The Animated Series in 1999 — but still counts, because a superhero is a superhero.
Jennifer Lawrence, Joy
There's no mystique behind the fact that J. Law nabbed another Oscar nomination this year for her work in David O. Russell's Joy. Get it? Because she plays Mystique in the X-Men franchise? Eh? EH?
Michael Fassbender, Steve Jobs
From Magento in the X-Men films to Steve Jobs in Steve Jobs, Fassbender really can play any role.
It's official: Superheroes are taking over Oscars season.
