Eddie Murphy's Triumphant Return Just in Time to Remember How Bitter Getting Snubbed by the Academy Tastes

Eddie Murphy’s Triumphant Return Just in Time to Remember How Bitter Getting Snubbed by the Academy Tastes

January 16, 2020

After a lengthy hiatus, Eddie Murphy made a cane-wielding resurgence into the spotlight with 2019’s Dolemite Is My Name. Murphy played Rudy Ray Moore, a performer who came to fame in the 1970s by creating the karate-chopping rapper Dolemite. Watching that film, you forget you’re watching Murphy or Moore; what you see instead is a hybrid of the two, a serendipitous amalgamation of personas. Murphy’s return to the big screen not only proves that he still has it but that he might be better than ever.

These days, a triumphant return may not be enough; the Academy has officially snubbed Murphy, failing to nominate him for Best Actor. In the wake of Monday’s announcement, a video posted by Todd Spence on Twitter has been making the rounds online. In the ominous clip, Murphy presents at the 1988 Academy Awards. Before presenting the award for Best Picture, Murphy says, “I’ll probably never win an Oscar for saying this,” while calling out the Academy for a lack of representation.

The relevance of this is beside the point—we’re all bitter. Eddie Murphy is back, whether or not the Academy agrees. Not only does the living legend plan to return to the stand-up comedy stage, but he also has a handful of nostalgia latent sequels planned: Coming 2 America, Beverly Hills Cop 4, and Triplets (playing Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny Devito’s other sibling). In anticipation for more Murphy (and in an effort to curb our bitterness) here are some GIFS looking back on projects that are directly setting up his future.