Best Stunt Design Category To Be Introduced At The 2028 Oscars

On Thursday, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced that it will introduce a Best Stunt Design category at the 100th Academy Awards, which will be held in 2028 and honor the films released in 2027.

“Since the early days of cinema, stunt design has been an integral part of filmmaking,” said Academy CEO Bill Kramer and President Janet Yang in a statement about the announcement of this new category. “We are proud to honor the innovative work of these technical and creative artists, and we congratulate them for their commitment and dedication in reaching this momentous occasion.”

This new category has been a long time coming, with more than 100 stunt professionals sitting in various production and technical branches of the Academy. Many have been pushing for a Stunts category to be introduced for quite some time, most notably The Fall Guy director David Leitch, who, along with stunt coordinator and designer Chris O’Hara, has been actively campaigning for the category. Leitch and O’Hara even went as far as to pitch the category to the Academy’s board of governors.

In a statement about the announcement, David Leitch had this to say:

“Stunts are essential to every genre of film and rooted deep in our industry’s history, from the groundbreaking work of early pioneers like Buster Keaton, Harold Lloyd, and Charlie Chaplin to the inspiring artistry of today’s stunt designers, coordinators, performers, and choreographers. This has been a long journey for so many of us. Chris O’Hara and I have spent years working to bring this moment to life, standing on the shoulders of the stunt professionals who’ve fought tirelessly for recognition over the decades. We are incredibly grateful. Thank you, Academy.”

The Academy Board of Governors and executive leadership are still discussing this new category’s specifics. The Academy will announce these details, such as how the category will be implemented into the Oscars ceremony and who exactly will be given the award, closer to the 2028 Oscars, as part of that year’s official rules announcement.