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Jennifer Lopez is already generating excitement for next awards season following the world premiere of her new musical, Kiss of the Spider Woman, at Sundance.
Despite already drawing praise for carrying out three distinct characters within the film, many social media users expressed confusion how she was already receiving Oscar buzz for the project, which does not yet have a distributor or release date.
When asked about the possibility of earning an Academy Award nomination for her role in the musical drama, directed by Bill Condon, the singer admitted that she didn't 'even want to begin the conversation.'
'Of course, I would love it to get the recognition that I believe it deserves,' she told Variety.
While speaking about reading the script for the first time, the mother-of-two recalled sitting 'in bed reading it' and 'saying the lines and laughing and crying.'
She continued: 'This is what I’ve been waiting for my whole life. This is all I’ve ever wanted to do
Jennifer Lopez is already generating excitement for next awards season following the world premiere of her new musical, Kiss of the Spider Woman, at Sundance; seen on Sunday
On Sunday, she received a standing ovation inside the Eccles Theatre during the 2025 Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah.
Although the nominations for the 2025 Oscars were announced just four days ago, it is not uncommon for actors and films to start spark buzz early at festivals like Sundance.
'Finally Jlo is going to beat the can't sing allegations and also win an Oscar for Kiss of the Spider Woman,' one X user tweeted.
Another wrote: 'A standing ovation at Sundance for JLo after Kiss of the Spider Woman, and let me just say this: start the 2026 Oscar campaign right now, because she's undeniable!! It's a larger than life role that she pulls off with such precision it's impossible to escape her web.'
'It's January, guys,' a third reminded the rest of the internet.
Others called this Lopez's 'renaissance era after that hate train TikTok era' and her divorce from Ben Affleck.
'Great reviews coming out of Sundance for Kiss of the Spider Woman!!! So excited for this movie!!! Oscar winner JLo, perhaps??? Gaaaahd!' one excited X user tweeted.
Others declared it was her 'fate to win an Oscar' and that they wanted her to get 'justice for that Hustler snub.'
The movie musical is about two Argentinian prisoners (Luna as Valentin Arregui and Tonatiuh as Luis Molina) forming a bond over the plot of a Hollywood musical starring a silver screen diva.
'Finally Jlo is going to beat the can't sing allegations and also win an Oscar for Kiss of the Spider Woman,' one tweeted
Another wrote: 'A standing ovation at Sundance for JLo after Kiss of the Spider Woman, and let me just say this: start the 2026 Oscar campaign right now, because she's undeniable!! It's a larger than life role that she pulls off with such precision it's impossible to escape her web'
'It's January, guys,' a third reminded the rest of the internet
One Lopez fan told the star not to worry as they were 'already' campaigning for her to get an Oscar nod
Others called this Lopez's 'renaissance era after that hate train TikTok era' and her divorce from Ben Affleck.
'Great reviews coming out of Sundance for Kiss of the Spider Woman!!! So excited for this movie!!! Oscar winner JLo, perhaps??? Gaaaahd!' one excited X user tweeted
Another predicted: 'Since this film is in full throttle with all her talents its fate to win an Oscar'
'Manifesting an Oscar nomination for JLo next award season,' another tweeted. 'We will get you justice for that Hustler snub'
Others urged JLo 'to put all her dollars behind' a 'full 12 month long Oscar campaign' to 'keep the momentum going'
Affleck, 52 — with whom she recently settled her divorce — is one of the eight credited executive producers on Kiss of the Spider Woman along with his buddy Matt Damon, Diego Luna, and Lopez herself.
The film is adapted from the stage musical, also titled Kiss of the Spider Woman, which itself is based on the 1976 novel by Manuel Puig.
Her acting was certainly put to the test as she took on the challenge of filming songs in one take.
She confirmed to People that they shot her scenes 'like the old musicals authentically were done.'
'And it's pretty amazing when you do see it and you go, "Oh, that was all one shot right there,"' she noted. 'And okay now they cut, but it's fascinating, you know, you go, "Oh I didn't realize that even when I was watching the musicals when I was younger."'
The movie musical is about two Argentinian prisoners (Luna as Valentin Arregui and Tonatiuh as Luis Molina) forming a bond over the plot of a Hollywood musical starring a silver screen diva; seen over the weekend
While she admitted it was 'a little extra challenge,' Lopez says it was also exhilarating.'
'Like you gotta get it right. And when you nail it, everybody's like aah,' she gushed.
During the Los Angeles Times panel over the weekend, Lopez revealed she prepared for months to play Ingrid in the film.
'I would've liked to have had a whole year to do a big musical like this, but we didn't have that — this independent film, and so everything was crunched. We didn't have much time,' she said.
Her ex-husband Ben Affleck, 52 — with whom she recently settled her divorce — is one of the eight credited executive producers on Kiss of the Spider Woman along with his buddy Matt Damon, Diego Luna, and Lopez herself; seen earlier this month
'It was challenging. It really was. For me, I was a dancer. But for Diego and Tona [Tonatiuh], it was very challenging, but we did it and we pulled it through.'
The actress also spoke about her passion for the project, saying she felt born to play this role.
'I never felt in my life that I was born to play a part ever. And I really felt that with this,' she shared, as per People.
'Love is just love and people are just people. And for me, that resonated very deeply because of my own life and my own children. And so I really took to it so immediately and was so excited.'
'I would've liked to have had a whole year to do a big musical like this, but we didn't have that — this independent film, and so everything was crunched. We didn't have much time,' she told Variety (seen last month)
Meanwhile, her co-star Tonatiuh described the joy of working with Lopez.
'It was watching a mastery of work to see you before every single time. There were even times where I wasn't even in the number and I would show up to set just to be like, oh my gosh, she's doing good again. This is incredible.'
'And mind you, we literally were shooting a number a day... You are a force of nature, truly.'
Chita Rivera - who died, age 91, on January 30 - originated the role of Aurora in all three productions staged in Toronto/West End in 1992, Broadway in 1993, and the national tour in 1996.
Sônia Braga took on the triple role of Leni Lamaison, Marta, and Spider Woman in Héctor Babenco's critically-acclaimed 1985 film adaptation, which earned $17M at the global box office.
The actress also recently spoke about her passion for the project, saying she felt born to play this role; seen on May 06, 2024
Jennifer previously co-starred with 74-year-old Braga in Gregory Nava's 2007 crime drama Bordertown, which earned dismal reviews and bombed at the box office.
Production wrapped June 16 on the 128-minute movie - containing strobe effects - which also stars Bruno Bichir, Josefina Scaglione, and Aline Mayagoitia.
'It's probably the most challenging and rewarding role I've ever had,' the Atlas producer-star told Variety's Awards Circuit podcast last month.
'It's a dark story, but also one about love and survival — about helping each other through hard times. I think that's a message we really need right now.'
