The nominations for the upcoming Academy Awards were announced earlier today, and while there’s little in the way of surprises, it still caused the late, great Chadwick Boseman to trend online. The Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom star has long since been considered the frontrunner to land the first posthumous victory for Best Actor since Peter Finch for Network in 1977, and at this stage it’ll be a much bigger surprise if he doesn’t win.
After all, Boseman has already won the majority of awards he’s been up for, scooping ten Best Actor trophies so far including the Golden Globe, and the most prestigious on-camera prize in the industry is surely his to lose. It would be a more than fitting way to cap off his legacy, as well as the ideal manner in which to celebrate the unquestionable talent of someone taken far too soon, and nobody can say that he doesn’t deserve it.
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom was largely shut out of the major categories, with the exception of Boseman and Viola Davis, who deservedly made the shortlist for Best Actress. Both of them are nothing short of incredible in their respective roles, and while there’s some stiff competition for Best Actor, it’s hard to imagine anyone other than Boseman being announced as the winner.
Shortly after the nominations were revealed, the Black Panther star was almost instantly trending, and not for the first time since Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom was released onto Netflix at the end of December, either. He delivers an utterly mesmerizing turn as ambitious musician Levee, and while rivals Steven Yeun, Riz Ahmed, Anthony Hopkins and Gary Oldman all gave awards-worthy performances in their own right, they may as well engrave Chadwick Boseman‘s name on the Oscar right now.