Steven Spielberg reflected onThe Dark Knightand why theBatmanfilm didn’t get nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars.The Dark Knighthad the recipe to be nominated for such an award, but it was absent from the Best Picture nominations.
Audiences deemThe Dark Knightthe gold standardof comic book movies even after all these years, and any great comic book movie that has come out since is usually compared to it. Even so, theBatmanfilm was considered to be snubbed at the Oscars for Best Picture, but Spielberg believes that if it came out today, it would be a different scenario.
RELATED:The Dark Knight Trilogy Writer Gives His Honest Thoughts on The Batman
Spielberg spoke toDeadlineabout his first screenplay nomination forThe Fabelmans, which made him “feel like all those English and creative writing classes paid off!” The director further stated that he feels “really encouraged” by the fact that two blockbusters,Top Gun: Maverickand his filmAvatar: The Way of Water, arenominated for Best Picture. Spielberg also saidThe Dark Knightis a “film that should have been nominated a number of years ago. That movie would have definitely garnered the Best Picture Nomination today, so having these two blockbusters solidly presented on the top 10 list is something we should all be celebrating."
Spielberg seems to believe that the Oscars are heading in the right direction in recognizing a variety of films for Best Picture because it expanded the category to ten nominees. Last year, the Oscars included a category for fan favoriteswon byZack Snyder’s Justice League. However, the fan-voted award was not official and did not include an Oscar statue. However, there is no such nomination category for the Oscars this year.
There have been many blockbuster movies in the past, even beforeThe Dark Knight, that have been nominated, and some that have even won Best Picture. So to use current blockbuster movies nominated for Best Picture as a reason for whyThe Dark Knightwould win today doesn’t seem like the most accurate of comparisons. However, the sentiment in what Spielberg is suggesting is thatThe Dark Knightwas, at the very least, worthy of a Best Picture nomination. It seems history repeats itself sinceThe Batmanis the best 2022 comic book movieto many. Although it was nominated for three Oscar awards, it could be argued that it is still missing from various categories in the same way thatThe Dark Knightwas.
The films that edged outThe Dark Knightfor Best Picture nominations in 2009 wereSlumdog Millionaire,The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,Milk,Frost/Nixon, andThe Reader. Despite this,The Dark Knightis a film that has aged well because of theincredible performance by Heath Ledgeras the Joker, and comments such as those from Spielberg are great in furthering the conversation towards more inclusivity of different genres at the Oscars.
The Dark Knightis available on HBO Max.
MORE:Future Batman Movies Should Take These Lessons From The Dark Knight
