The MCU may have been setting endless records for box-office supremacy and audience and critical acclaim for the past decade but the one thing it can’t seem to achieve is the elusive Academy Award for Best Anything. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is the latest addition to a growing list of MCU films nominated for the Best Visual Effects Oscar. It’s competing against the likes of The Last Jedi, Kong: Skull Island, and War For The Planet Of The Apes. James Gunn‘s zany space epic about family and friendship joins its contemporaries Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Iron Man 3, and Doctor Strange among others.

If you ask us, Apes seems like a shoo-in considering the incredible and tremendous results Andy Serkis and his production The Imaginarium achieved throughout the Apes franchise. In the VFX category, there’s always that one film that transcends the list of competitors. Last year, Doctor Strange went up against The Jungle Book, another film whose primary selling point was its landmark achievement in visual effects.

With the exception of Nolan’s Batman and last year’s Logan (which is actually nominated this year for Best Adapted Screenplay), most superhero films have been getting the short end of the Academy stick. I’m a firm believer that Joss Whedon should have been nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay when he did the monumental task of bringing The Avengers to life, a film which pretty much changed the blockbuster landscape of Hollywood in the years to come. In light of Logan‘s nomination, this belief remains true for me more than ever.

Source: The Academy