Oscars 2016: John Williams receives 50th nomination

That's over half the number of times the ceremony's even been hosted.

John Williams (Getty)

John Williams has received his 50th Oscar nomination. He'll be up against the likes of Ennio Morricone and Thomas Newman in the category of Best Music - Original Score, honoured for his work on Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

"I'm deeply honoured and grateful to the Academy for this recognition," the composer said in a statement. "It's been a privilege and a joy to revisit the Star Wars galaxy and to work with the brilliant director J.J. Abrams on this very special film." Indeed, Williams has scored all seven films in the Star Wars series, with his score to the prequels regularly commended as one of their few high points.

To fully appreciate what an outstanding achievement this is for the composing legend, consider this; he's been nominated over half the number of times the ceremony's been hosted, with this year marking the 88th Academy Awards. The now 83-year-old Williams was first nominated for Best Score Adaption in 1967, for Valley of the Dolls, and since then has regularly received multiple nominations within the same year.

For example, 1977 saw him nominated for two of his most acclaimed scores, Star Wars and Close Encounters of the Third Kind. He won for Star Wars, marking one of a mere 5 times the composer has ever actually won the award. His other wins were for Fiddler on the Roof (1971), Jaws (1975), E.T. the Extra-Terrestial (1982), and Schindler's List (1993).

Williams, indeed, was never awarded for some of his most iconic work; including the Indiana Jones trilogy, Home Alone, the Harry Potter series, and Superman. Supposedly, the Academy couldn't allow him to become too greedy in his general domination of all cinema scoring. 

The full list of nominees in the category is as follows: Thomas Newman (Bridge of Spies), Carter Burwell (Carol), Ennio Morricone (The Hateful Eight), Johann Johannsson (Sicario), and John Williams (Star Wars: The Force Awakens). Star Wars: The Force Awakens has also been nominated for Best Film Editing, Best Sound Editing, Best Visual Effects, and Best Sound Mixing. 

The 88th Academy Awards will be held 28 February.