The Oscars have come and gone once again, and they have been the topic of discussion for numerous reasons: Oppenheimer winning for most of its nominations, including Best Actor, Best Director, and Best Picture; Ryan Gosling’s unforgettable performance of “I’m Just Ken” from Barbie; John Cena wearing nothing but Birkenstocks and his birthday suit to present the Oscar for Best Costume Design; and in the biggest upset of the night, Emma Stone winning for Best Actress instead of Lily Gladstone. A smaller, but still notable, moment that had people talking was Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt presenting together to pay tribute to the community of stuntpersons whose hard and amazing work helps make films so incredibly entertaining to watch. Some viewers at home thought this would’ve been a perfect opportunity for the two of them to announce that The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences finally made it official, and introduce the new category of Best Stunt Choreography for the Oscars starting next year, along with Best Casting.
There have been many critics and cinephiles who have been clamoring for The Academy to lavish some praise and acknowledgment on the stunt community outside of the occasional speech and montage every few years. And there have been films that are perfect examples of why this should have become a reality by now. Films like the John Wick series (the staircase scene in Chapter 4 alone is proof of this), the Fast & Furious series, the Mission Impossible series, Bullet Train, The Woman King, Baby Driver (its writer-director, Edgar Wright, expressed his appreciation on Twitter for the film’s inclusion in the Oscars stunt montage, while also stating that more needs to be done), both volumes of Kill Bill, Everything Everywhere All at Once, and last but certainly not least, Mad Max: Fury Road.
If The Academy is truly serious about acknowledging the stunt community with its own category at the Oscars (and it is admittedly a long and complicated process for a new category to be introduced), here are some upcoming films this year that look like they will be deserving of some nominations for their stunt performers.
Dev Patel makes his directorial debut (and puts his black belt in tae kwon do to very good use) in this Jordan Peele-produced action film about a young man working in an underground fight club who decides to inflict revenge on his mother’s killers. From what has been shown in the trailer so far (especially the red-band trailer), Monkey Man looks to be a combo of John Wick, Oldboy, and even Bloodsport that will earn the film its R rating, and with fight choreography that will have audiences talking about it long after the closing credits.
Before we get to see whether or not he surpasses expectations with his lead role in the long-awaited remake of The Crow, Bill Skårsgard stars in this action film about a young boy who becomes deaf and mute after witnessing the murder of his loved ones by a corrupt and powerful family, and spends the rest of his childhood in rigorous martial arts training so he can seek his revenge as an adult. Skårsgard’s inner voice is provided by the legendary H. Jon Benjamin, so have fun deciding for yourself as to whether it is Sterling Archer or Bob Belcher who is providing the narration for this.
There have been some conflicting viewpoints seen in the press as to whether this should be released in theaters, or whether it should be released on Amazon Prime Video. Regardless of which viewpoint is truthful and correct, viewers will get to see this remake of the 1989 cult classic that starred the late, great Patrick Swayze, and blessed us with memorable quotes like “Pain don’t hurt,” and “I want you to be nice until it’s time to not be nice”. Gyllenhaal plays a former MMA fighter who is hired by a bar owner (Jessica Williams) to help clean up her newest place of business in the Florida Keys so that it no longer resembles a slaughterhouse, which leads to him butting heads with a ruthless and boisterous troublemaker played by UFC champion Conor McGregor.
The long-awaited sequel/introduction of The Merc with a Mouth to the Marvel Cinematic Universe is almost here, and this time, we get to see him cross paths with one of the best things to come out of Canada since maple syrup: Wolverine, the adamantium-clawed mutant who will be played once again by Hugh Jackman, despite the fact that we saw him perish in the 2017 film Logan. The Deadpool films have been well-known for their clever stunts and fight scenes, and seeing not just one, but two, superhuman characters who can take lots of punishment while they’re dishing it out, looks to promise even more.
The prequel to 2015’s Mad Max: Fury Road is centered on the origin story of Imperator Furiosa (played by Charlize Theron in Fury Road, and now played by Anya Taylor-Joy in this film), and how she became trapped in the nearly inescapable grasp of Immortan Joe and his War Boys. It already looks like it will be just as delightfully bonkers (or batshit, whichever works best) when it comes to the vehicular mayhem that is to be expected in any Mad Max tale, and much like Fury Road did upon its release, Furiosa is highly likely to inspire just as much noise from its viewers in asking/demanding The Academy to finally give the stunt community the praise and acknowledgment they all deserve.
The 1980s television series that starred Lee Majors as a stuntman who moonlights as a bounty hunter to track down criminals every week gets the big-screen treatment, with Ryan Gosling playing the role of stuntman Colt Seavers, and Emily Blunt as Jody, the action film director/ex-girlfriend of Colt who asks him to find the leading man for her mega-budgeted action film before it is shut down. This will be the second time Gosling plays a stuntman, though it’s safe to say that The Fall Guy will be a lot less gory and disturbing to watch than Drive. And if there’s any of these films that deserves an Oscar nod for Best Stunt Choreography, what better candidate than a film about a stuntperson doing what he does best to save the day?
