I remarked last season how Season 25 felt like a landmark milestone in LRF’s history and that leaves Season 26 in an interesting spot. Is this a new era of LRF in any sort of way? Well, from this observer’s perspective, the tides do seem to be turning in new directions—at least in the realm of superhero movies. For the longest time, LRF had a strong working relationship with DC Comics. As Disney’s MCU reigned supreme in Hollywood, the studio largely stayed away from popular Marvel Comics characters.
If this season is any indication, things have changed. With the edict that they must differentiate themselves from the Disney incarnations, some of Marvel’s biggest heroes are now finally making their way to the LRF backlots. In the first half of this season alone, audiences have been introduced to new versions of Iron Man and Captain America. And while those two films were big on their own respectively, they are also clearly interconnected as an older Tony Stark had a key supporting part in Captain America.
Looking ahead to the second half of the season, round 8 will see the Fantastic Four team up the Silver Surfer—LRF’s original Marvel hero, debuting back in Season 3. And then the season will end with the return of Mark Duplass as The Hulk, with new writer H.G. Hansen hyping Jenny Slate’s return as She-Hulk in that film as well. This now marks the second straight season with four different Marvel films, although this current batch seems less standalone than last season’s.
Despite being halfway through the season, there have not been many breakout critical hits thus far this season. The average Metascore of this season’s fifteen releases is 59, although it’s worth noting that critically acclaimed films do tend to come out later in the season. In the first thirteen films of the season, only one film (The Invincible Iron Man) had cracked 70, although that has improved as of late with the release of Miracles and Captain America. While the former’s ensemble cast will likely provide some potential nominees in the acting categories, most GRA categories seem difficult to pin down at the moment. It’s worth keeping an eye on Tara’s Web given that the erotic/thriller genre has been on an awards hot streak. The three previous LRF films in that genre (the Poison Ivy films and Natural Selection) won a combined 14 Golden Reel Awards between them, including three Best Actress trophies. Could Victoria Pedretti be next?
Looking ahead, big things are clearly on the way. The aforementioned superhero sequels are a key part of that and it’s also hard to overlook Tom Cruise and company returning for a Green Lantern sequel. With that in mind, as well as other potential breakout hits like Among Us, the box office should be good shape by the next time you hear from me.
Next round sounds like it could be a vital one for the actor races. First up is a dramatic turn from the Sandman as Adam Sandler follows up his Season 22 GRA nomination with a collaboration with Mo Buck and Thomas Vinterberg. And that week we also get the finale to the Caesar trilogy, a critical juggernaut that brings back all of the key names behind-the-scenes and in front of the camera (sans Russell Crowe). And this is just in the next two releases! Who knows what may to come in the rounds to follow.
All I know is that I look forward to reading my fellow mid-season segments and their insights! I’ll see you all again at the end of the season when we check in before the 26th annual Golden Reel Awards. Talk to you then!
