"Black Panther: Wakanda Forever" Gains Well-Deserved Academy Award Nominations
Plus: a new trailer for The Mandalorian Season 3, this week's comic haul, and upcoming February releases.
On January 24th, the nominations for the 95th Academy Awards were announced. There were some wonderful surprises, like Puss in Boots: The Last Wish being nominated for Best Animated Feature. There were some nominations that we all saw coming, like the justified 11 nominations for Everything Everywhere All at Once. And of course, there were some hard decisions to accept, like no female directors nominated for Best Director.
All that being said, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever collected 5 nominations for this year’s Oscars, including the following:
Best Actress in a Supporting Role—Angela Bassett
Best Costume Design—Ruth Carter
Best Makeup and Hairstyling—Camille Friend and Joel Harlow
Best Original Song—“Lift Me Up”
Best Visual Effects—Geoffrey Baumann, Craig Hammack, R. Christopher White and Dan Sudick
All of these nominations are well-deserved for a film that was visually stunning as well as full of talented actors. It’s no surprise Ruth Carter is nominated for her gorgeous costumes again, after winning an Oscar for Black Panther. And Angela Bassett definitely deserves the nom after pouring her heart and soul into the role of Queen Ramonda. Everyone involved with the film created a powerful and moving story that encapsulated the magic of Marvel and honored Chadwick Boseman.
We’ll have to stay tuned to see which categories the team of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever takes! The 95th Academy Awards will be presented on Sunday, March 12, 2023 at 8pm ET/5pm PT. In the meantime, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever will be available to stream on Disney Plus beginning February 1st.
A New Trailer for The Mandalorian Season 3
On January 16, Disney dropped a new trailer for the upcoming season of The Mandalorian. They premiered the trailer during NFL Wild Card game, which I’m sure caused many Star Wars fans to sit through part of a football game just for a first look. (Personally, I just waited until it dropped online, but props to those who braved watching sports for the trailer. You’re the real ones.)
I was blown away by the full one minute and 42 seconds, but some of my favorite shots and potential important points are:
That adorable shot of Mando and Grogu bonding in hyperspace. It looks like Mando finally let the green baby into the cockpit…What small ship item will be Grogu’s fascination this time?
Greef Karga makes an appearance in some gorgeous robes to shake hands with Mando.
The Mandalorian declares he’s going back to Mandalore to be cleared of any “transgressions”…could this transgression be removing his helmet for Grogu?
We also get a devastating shot of Mandalore after the Empire destroyed the planet, with a cavernous shell of what used to be a city.
We are given a few shots of a planet that seems to be a large city—this could potentially be Coruscant or maybe Hosnian Prime.
The few seconds that had the internet in a tizzy: It looks like we’re going to get yet another perspective of Order 66 (because Dave Filoni can’t be involved with a show without that tragedy making an appearance.) Four Jedi stand at the ready, lightsabers ablaze, as the door in front of them is slowly melted away by what seems to be another saber.
A few theories: it could be Anakin sawing through the door when he visits the Jedi temple, OR we could be getting more information on how Grogu survived the ordeal. Could the person at the door be coming to save him (or maybe capture him?)
THERE IS A DROID BAR!! I love it.
The shot of the Mandalorians dropping from a ship into the air, igniting their jetpacks…WOW.
The same species as Babu Frick from The Rise of Skywalker makes an appearance. Could it be the “HEY HEYYY” guy himself?
And last but not least, Grogu kicks some enemy butt in a fabulous force move. Glad to see that he is coming into his own!
The Mandalorian Season 3 will premiere on Disney Plus on March 1.
This Week’s Comic Haul
This week was highly anticipated because of the two Star Wars comics that released on Wednesday. (It would have been three, but sadly The High Republic Adventures got pushed back a few more weeks.) Here’s what I got:
Star Wars: Yoda #3. The third installment of this 10-comic miniseries wraps up the first of three arcs as Yoda looks back on certain points in his life to better connect with the Force on Dagobah.
Star Wars: The High Republic—The Blade #2. The second issue of a 4-part miniseries continues a look into the background of High Republic favorite Porter Engle.
Doctor Strange: Fall Sunrise #3—The penultimate issue of this Marvel 4-comic miniseries follows Doctor Strange as he investigates a new and strange psychidelic-esque world.
Saga #61—The beloved comic series by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples continues after their hiatus from July 2018 to January 2022 with a sweeping tale of a family fighting to survive an intergalactic war.
I am beyond excited to add these four to my collection. (I finally got a comic storage container and some boards and bags to store them properly. It’s about time.) Currently, I’m catching up on the Saga issue’s I’ve missed before diving into #61, but I was thrilled that I am beginning my comic collecting journey as one of my favorite comics is releasing new issues.
Also, check out my reviews for Yoda #3 and The Blade #2 on www.dorksideoftheforce.com.
February Nerdy Releases to be Excited About
It’s the month of ~love~, and there is going to be plenty for fans to love in February! Check out some anticipated new releases below.
Films:
Harley Quinn: A Very Problematic Valentine’s Day Special releases on Feb. 9 on HBO Max.
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania releases in theaters on Feb. 17th. Get your tickets now!
TV Shows:
Star Wars: The Bad Batch continues releasing episodes every Wednesday, with a mid-season double-feature of episodes 7 and 8 on Feb. 8th.
Books:
The script of Star Wars: The High Republic—The Battle of Jedha by George Mann releases on Feb. 14th! (Happy Valentine’s Day, am I right??) Time to re-listen to the audio drama and read along.
Comics:
Batman: Legends of Gotham #1—Jan. 31 (DC)
DC’s Harley Quinn Romances #1—Jan. 31 (DC—I am beyond excited for this one!! I mean, LOOK at that cover.)
Silver Surfer: Ghost Light #1—Feb. 1 (Marvel)
Bloodline: Daughter of Blade #1—Feb. 1 (Marvel)
Star Wars: Sana Starros #1—Feb. 1 (Marvel)
Batman & The Joker: The Deadly Duo #4—Feb. 7 (DC)
Star Wars: Darth Vader #31—Feb. 8 (Marvel)
Star Wars: The High Republic #5—Feb. 8 (Marvel)
Secret Invasion #4—Feb. 8 (Marvel)
Star Wars: Hidden Empire #3—Feb. 8 (Marvel)
Star Wars #31—Feb. 15 (Marvel)
Star Wars: Bounty Hunters #31—Feb. 15 (Marvel)
Wasp #2—Feb. 15 (Marvel)
Monica Rambeau: Photon #3—Feb. 15 (Marvel)
Saga #62—Feb. 22 (Image Comics)
Superman #1—Feb. 21 (DC—A new Superman run?? EEK!)
Deadpool #4—Feb. 22 (Marvel)
Star Wars: Doctor Aphra #29—Feb. 22 (Marvel)
Star Wars: Yoda #4—Feb. 22 (Marvel)
Star Wars: The High Republic Adventures—The Nameless Terror #1—Feb. 22 (Marvel)
As you can see, there are PLENTY of awesome comics coming out in February, and a lot of new runs starting! Make sure to support your local comic shop by checking out some of your favorites on the list!
Thank you for subscribing to The Cosmic Comic Collective! I appreciate all of your support. Stay on the lookout for a couple extra newsletters coming soon with a review for The Battle of Jedha and a re-reading reflection on Lost Stars by Claudia Gray.