Top Gun Maverick & Glass Onion Oscar nominations confuse fans

Cameron Frew
Tom Cruise in Top Gun Maverick and Daniel Craig in Glass Onion

Top Gun: Maverick and Glass Onion bagged nominations for this year’s Oscars – but one category has left fans of both movies feeling a bit confused.

The nominations for the 95th Academy Awards have finally been announced. Everything Everywhere All at Once is the leader of the pack with 11 nominations, followed by Netflix’s war epic All Quiet on The Western Front with nine nods.

Top Gun: Maverick, the second-highest-grossing movie of 2022 behind Avatar: The Way of Water, bagged six nominations, including one for Best Picture.

However, along with Netflix’s Knives Out sequel Glass Onion, some people are baffled as to why they’ve been nominated in one particular category.

Why Top Gun Maverick & Glass Onion are nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay

Top Gun: Maverick and Glass Onion have both been adapted for Best Adapted Screenplay. This is because they’re sequels, and sequels are automatically considered adapted screenplays as they stem from past works. In Top Gun: Maverick’s case, its source material is Top Gun, while Glass Onion’s is Knives Out.

It’s a silly rule, given Best Adapted Screenplay is usually reserved for works based on books and plays, or at a push, remakes of classic or foreign movies. Also, it’s clearly confused quite a few people reading the nominations at home.

“How did Top Gun: Maverick get in for Adapted Screenplay? Where is the adaptation from?” one user asked. “I’m hoping #FilmTwitter can confirm, but why are Glass Onion & Top Gun: Maverick in the Adapted Screenplay category? Is it because they’re sequels?” another wrote.

“What exactly were Top Gun: Maverick and Glass Onion adapted from? Is it just because they’re sequels?” a third tweeted.

“Question about Oscar nominations: How are Top Gun Mavericks and Glass Onion adapted screenplays? What are they adapted from? Is it just that all sequels are considered adapted?” a fourth wrote.

For the full list of nominations for the 2023 Oscars, click here.

The 95th Academy Awards then take place on March 12, 2023. You can find out how to watch the ceremony here.

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About The Author

Cameron is Deputy TV and Movies Editor at Dexerto. He's an action movie aficionado, '80s obsessive, Oscars enthusiast, and a staunch Scot. He earned a First-Class Honours Degree in Multimedia Journalism from Glasgow Caledonian University, accredited by the NCTJ and BJTC. He began his career at UNILAD, starting as a Junior Journalist and becoming Entertainment Editor prior to joining Dexerto. You can contact him at cameron.frew@dexerto.com.