- A new category for the Oscars is being added for the year 2026.
- The award will be titled "The Academy Award for Achievement in Casting".
- Movies released in 2025 will stand a chance at nominations for this award.
In the latest update, the Academy of Motion Pictures Art and Sciences is set to include a new category of Awards for Oscars 2026. The Academy Award for Achievement in Casting will be awarded for the best casting from the year 2026. The last time a new category was added to the Oscars was in 2001 when the award for Best Animated Feature Film was added to the list.
Several casting directors including Carmen Cuba, the person responsible for the immaculate cast of shows like ” Stranger Things” and “Mr. and Mrs. Smith” have been putting up the demand for such an award to be added to the Oscars. This makes complete sense as well since if other organizations like BAFTA, Emmy, and Spirits can give out such awards, why not the most prestigious of them all?
In an official statement released on Tuesday by current Academy president Janet Yang and CEO Bill Kramer on their ABC telecast, they stated
“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”-Academy President Janet Yang and CEO Bill Kramer.
In an interview, Carmen Cube, the popular casting director, gave to the Los Angeles Times, she said “We’re the first people hired. If Nina Gold or Victoria Thomas signs onto a project, the industry immediately trusts it’s an important movie”. Along with these statements, she made a pretty solid point stating
“We begin the conversation. At first, it’s ideas, lists, auditions. Then it’s deal-making, budgeting, scheduling. Sometimes we cast throughout the shoot. It’s collaborative, but all of film is collaborative. If 23 categories are eligible, we should be too.”- Carmen Cuba
The new awards category added to the Oscars titled “The Academy Award for Achievement in Casting” will be awarded for the very first time in 2026. Movies that will be released in 2025 will stand a chance to be nominated for this award and the rules and regulations for being nominated will be issued in 2025 as well.
Oscars 2024 are scheduled for March 10, 2024. Check out the full list of Oscars 2024 nominations.
