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A brand-spanking new category is coming to the Oscars in 2026.
It just announced that Best Casting will be included in several years for the 98th annual Academy Awards, Variety reports.
Best Casting will be added to the Academy Awards
This was decided by the Board of Governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. They made the announcement Thursday morning. It was unexpected, as this is the first new category for the awards since 2001 when Best Animated Feature Film was included. There's been a call for this category that stems back to the late '90s.
This could lead the way for other categories. For example, there's been a push from people like director Chad Stahelski from John Wick: Chapter 4 to include a Stunts category.
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The Board of Governors of the AMPAS announced a new competitive Oscar category for best achievement in casting, for films released in 2025, beginning at the 98th ceremony in 2026. https://t.co/G36WifGSzP pic.twitter.com/9mWDDXth1L
— Variety (@Variety) February 8, 2024
As for this new inclusion, Academy CEO Bill Kramer and Academy President Janet Yang said, “Casting directors play an essential role in filmmaking, and as the Academy evolves, we are proud to add casting to the disciplines that we recognize and celebrate. We congratulate our Casting Directors Branch members on this exciting milestone and their commitment and diligence throughout this process.”
Also adding to the congratulations were Academy Casting Director Branch governors Richard Hicks, Kim Taylor-Colman, and Debra Zane. In a joint statement, they said, “On behalf of the members of the Casting Directors Branch, we'd like to thank the Board of Governors, the Awards Committee, and Academy leadership for their support. This award is a deserved acknowledgment of our casting directors' exceptional talents and a testament to the dedicated efforts of our branch.”
We'll see who wins the Oscar for casting in 2026.
