For the first time in more than two decades, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences added a new category to the Oscars.
On Thursday, the Academy shared that, starting in 2026, the category of Best Casting will join the lineup of annual awards.
It’s the first time a new category has been introduced at the ceremony since 2002, when the category of Best Animated Feature made its debut.
While it’s great to know the Academy will finally recognize the excellent casting directors who help put together our most electric ensembles, we feel that there are even more categories that would help recognize the widespread excellence across the industry.
Yes, we’re including Best Stunt Work and Choreography in this, so that a world where the Oscar-nominated John Wick: Chapter 4 could be a possibility.
Best Stunt Work/Choreography
It’s high time the Academy finally recognize the incredible stunt work and choreography that goes into making some of our most memorable spectacles.
Establishing a Best Stunt Work/Choreography category would honor all the excellent stunt and choreography professionals who stage the most gripping action sequences and mind-blowing dance sequences.
EXAMPLE WITH 2023 FILMS:
- Barbie
- Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 3
- Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny
- John Wick: Chapter 4
- Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning
Best Voice-Over Work
The Academy has never recognized a voice-over performance in its acting categories, but it’d be very fitting to recognize voice work for animated films in a separate category.
Just think: we could’ve had an Oscar win for Eddie Murphy’s groundbreaking work in Shrek or for Josh Gad as Olaf in Frozen.
EXAMPLE WITH 2023 FILMS:
- Jack Black, The Super Mario Bros. Movie
- Leah Lewis, Elemental
- Shameik Moore, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
- Chloë Grace Moretz, Nimona
- Robert Pattinson, The Boy and the Heron
Best Music Supervisor
The preexisting songs that help make up a movie are often an underlooked part of a film production, but music supervisors do the wrangling to give some of our best movies their most unforgettable needle drops.
While filmmakers play a role in song selection, the best music supervisors help link the right songs for the best scenes. Plus, we could finally give music supervising legend Randall Poster the Oscar he deserves.
EXAMPLES WITH 2023 FILMS:
- Asteroid City: Randall Poster
- The Killer: Jumi Akinfenwa
- Priscilla: Randall Poster
- Saltburn: Kirsten Lane
- Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse: Kier Lehman
Best Breakout Performance
Like the BAFTAs recognize emerging actors with the Rising Star Award, the Oscars should recognize a breakout performance from an actor who really established themselves as a force in the industry.
It’d be a great place for young actors to be recognized if they don’t get nominated in the main four acting categories.
EXAMPLES FOR 2023 PERFORMANCES:
- Ayo Edebiri, Bottoms
- Abby Ryder Fortson, Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret.
- Cara Jade Myers, Killers of the Flower Moon
- Charles Melton, May December
- Dominic Sessa, The Holdovers
Best First Feature
Like the Directors Guild of America, being able to honor a first-time filmmaker would be a great way of recognizing emerging filmmakers that might not yet earn attention in Best Director.
EXAMPLES OF 2023 DIRECTORS:
- Raine Allen-Miller, Rye Lane
- Cord Jefferson, American Fiction
- Raven Jackson, All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt
- Celine Song, Past Lives
- Juel Taylor, They Cloned Tyrone
