The Academy Awards unveiled their nominees last night, a spectacle of brilliance, bruised egos, and baffling omissions. With the Academy having to cherry-pick their nominees from the brilliant lineup of movies such as Emilia Pérez, Wicked, The Brutalist, and Dune 2, the competition was as ruthless as a vulture at wake. Dune 2 swept nearly every category, proving itself the darling of the desert, except for the glaring absence of Denis Villeneuve in the Best Director category at the Oscars 2025.

With Dune 2 slated to be one of the most celebrated movies at the theaters the past year, owing to its out-of-the-ordinary science-fiction brilliance, it was not a movie that was overlooked in any Oscars prediction. But while the movie may not have been overlooked, the Academy Awards has tipped the hat for the soufflé but booed the chef by not nominating Denis Villeneuve in the Best Director category at Oscars 2025, unleashing an extreme reaction from not just fans of the movie but also Josh Brolin.

Agitated by the Academy's decision to overlook Villeneuve's brilliance, Brolin boldly stated that he might just have to quit acting because the Oscar math does not make sense to him anymore. The outrage is also heightened by the fact that this is not the first time the Academy has pulled such a stunt, with Denis Villeneuve itself, as a similar instance unfolded in 2022.

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This glaring oversight by the Oscars, wounding Denis Villeneuve for the umpteenth time, has only added salt to wounds opened since 2022 for fans, resulting in a massive digital outcry for now, along with boycott uprisings.

While there are several fanbases that have gotten their hearts broken looking at the list of Oscar nominees this year, the case of Denis Villeneuve stands a league above. The Academy has nominated Dune 2 for Best Picture at the Oscars 2025, it further crowned the movie in the Best Cinematography category, Best Sound and Best Visual Effects, and even Best Production Design, making the snub all the more hurtful as Denis Villeneuve's entire ship seems to have sailed smoothly away without saluting the director.

Fans highlighted the irony of Dune 2 being up for Best Picture whilst Villeneuve was not even nominated while others speculated some conspiracy.

Despite the nominees already being declared, with Josh Brolin boldly calling out the Academy over Denis Villeneuve's snub, it seems that the decision might have some lasting impact for the award show, with whispers of a boycott spread across town. 

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Do you think Denis Villeneuve should have been nominated for Best Director at Oscars 2025? Let us know in the comments below.