Disney CEO Says Academy Award Nominee ‘Black Panther’ Has Already Won

Marvel just might make history tonight with Black Panther‘s landmark Oscar nominations, but it sounds like someone close to the film is already celebrating.

Disney CEO Bob Iger recently took to Twitter to congratulate the film’s cast and crew on their nominations, ahead of tonight’s ceremony. As Iger put it, the film “already won”, because of the cultural impact that it has taken on in the year since its release.

With Black Panther having seven chances of taking home an Academy Award tonight – including a nomination for Best Picture – it certainly will be interesting to see what accolades it earns. But with a groundbreaking box office performance and a sequel already in the works, Iger’s sentiment of the film “already winning” does make sense.

“You’re going to hear me say the name ‘Ryan Coogler’ constantly on this phone call,” Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige said of the film’s Oscar recognition. “To me, the best thing a producer can do is find a person with something to say, who has a story to tell and can tell it in a way that the world responds to. That’s what Mr. Coogler has done for us.”

“With what Ryan was doing, what he had to say, and vouching for crew members that we had not worked with before but that he believed in — he came in and blew us away with initial sort of presentations to get the job,” Feige said in a previous interview. “For them to have stepped up and knocked it out of the park the way they did is incredible. It comes down to a filmmaker who has such a deft hand at being able to balance something that is going to have entertainment value with being true to his soul and being true to the questions he had growing up.”

Are you excited to see Black Panther in tonight’s Oscars? Which awards do you hope the film takes home? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!

Upcoming Marvel Cinematic Universe movies include Captain Marvel on March 8th, Avengers: Endgame on April 26th, and Spider-Man: Far From Home on July 5th.

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