Academy adds new Oscars category for casting

Casting directors will finally get their due beginning with the 98th Academy Awards.

The Board of Governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, or AMPAS, announced Thursday the addition of a new Oscars category for achievement in casting.

This competitive Oscar will go into effect for the 98th Academy Awards, honoring films released in 2025.

The casting directors branch, which was created in July 2013, currently counts 160 members among its ranks.

Academy CEO Bill Kramer and Academy President Janet Yang praised casting directors in a joint statement for playing "an essential role in filmmaking," adding that they "are proud to add casting to the disciplines that we recognize and celebrate" at the Academy Awards.

The governors of the casting directors branch, Richard Hicks, Kim Taylor-Coleman and Debra Zane, noted that this Oscars category "is a deserving acknowledgment of our casting directors' exceptional talents."

All the details for the category -- including rules for eligibility and voting -- will be announced in April 2025.

This marks the first new category for the Academy Awards since the best animated feature film category was established in 2001.

Correction: A previous version of this story stated that the new award category would be presented at the 2026 Oscars. It has been updated to note that the category will go into effect in 2026.