Perhaps in an effort to get down with the kids and prove that the ceremony isn’t all about stuffy prestige dramas, the Academy Awards are introducing a brand new category, one that gives fans the power to decide to the victor.
Effectively a ‘Most Popular’ award, Twitter users can tag their preferred candidate as #OscarsFanFavorite, with the winner set to be named during the glitzy gala. As things stand, Spider-Man: No Way Home is the overwhelming favorite to to come out on top, but fans of Zack Snyder’s Justice League fans have been left fuming.
As if by magic, the four-hour HBO Max epic was one of the top trending topics worldwide when the new prize was first revealed, with supporters throwing their weight behind Snyder’s extended version of the infamous flop landing unexpected awards season glory. Unfortunately, Justice League V2.0 isn’t even eligible.
The streaming exclusive didn’t play in theaters, and isn’t listed among the qualifiers on the official Oscars website, so all of that tweeting and retweeting was ultimately for nothing. As you can imagine, SnyderVerse enthusiasts were not best pleased.
That pretty much means the award is Spider-Man: No Way Home‘s to lose, while also providing even more ammunition for Justice League followers to claim they’re being intentionally blackballed by an industry that refuses to heed their pleas to restore the SnyderVerse.