Road to the Oscars 2026: All about Sunday’s broadcast
The 98th Academy Awards air March 15 on ABC and will also stream live on Hulu.
The 98th Academy Awards will be held Sunday, where the best movies from the past year will be honored and celebrated.
Comedian Conan O’Brien will host the ceremony for the second time. At the 98th Oscars Creative Team press conference, the ceremony’s executive producer and showrunner, Raj Kapoor, said this year’s Oscars theme is humanity.
“Everything that you see in the show is inspired by human touch and creativity,” Kapoor said. “We’ve completely redesigned what the stage looks like. It’s very immersive. We hope all our nominees are celebrated in a very big way. We have beautiful photos and clips and nomination packages that a lot of time and thought and care has been put into.”
As for specific teases and surprises that will happen during the show, Kapoor confirmed a rumored reunion happening onstage.
“We are very excited to announce that we have a Bridesmaids reunion that is going to be very special,” Kapoor said.
Executive producer Katy Mullan teased two other surprises.
“There’s also going to be a Marvel reunion for the superhero fans. So we’re gonna have superstars, superheroes and there is also gonna be an extraterrestrial on the stage, so you can figure that one out,” Mullan said.
The Oscars will take place on Sunday at the Dolby Theatre at Ovation Hollywood. The show will air live on ABC and will also stream live on Hulu.
Tom Cruise on the set of ‘Top Gun,’ directed by Tony Scott. (Sunset Boulevard/Corbis via Getty Images)
Great balls of fire! Top Gun 3 is on the way.
During Paramount’s CinemaCon presentation in Las Vegas on Thursday, it was revealed that a third film in the blockbuster franchise is coming, with Tom Cruise and producer Jerry Bruckheimer both returning.
ABC News has reached out to Paramount Pictures and CinemaCon for comment.
Top Gun 3 will serve as a follow-up to the Joseph Kosinski-directed Top Gun: Maverick, which premiered in 2022.
Cruise, who starred in the 2022 film, reprised his role as Capt. Pete “Maverick” Mitchell from the 1986 film TopGun. In that film, Maverick is sent to the Top Gun Naval Fighter Weapons School, where he trains to refine his flying skills.
It starred Val Kilmer as Lt. Tom “Iceman” Kazansky, Anthony Edwards as Lt. j.g. Nick “Goose” Bradshaw, Tom Skerritt as Cmdr. Mike “Viper” Metcalf, Meg Ryan as Goose’s wife, Carole, and Kelly McGillis as Charlie Blackwood.
Top Gun: Maverick centered around Maverick confronting his past while training a group of younger Top Gun graduates, including the son of his late best friend, for a dangerous mission.
The 2022 film starred Cruise, Kilmer, Jennifer Connelly as bar owner Penny Benjamin, Miles Teller as Lt. Bradley “Rooster” Bradshaw (Goose’s son), Glen Powell as Lt. Jake “Hangman” Seresin, Jon Hamm as Vice Adm. Beau “Cyclone” Simpson, Bashir Salahuddin as Chief Warrant Officer Bernie “Hondo” Coleman, Monica Barbaro as Lt. Natasha “Phoenix” Trace, Jay Ellis as Lt. Reuben “Payback” Fitch and more.
While Cruise was not onstage to help reveal the news about Top Gun 3, he made an appearance on April 14 at the Warner Bros. presentation to share a sneak peek of his upcoming film Digger, directed by Alejandro G. Iñárritu.
Nick Reiner appears with Deputy Public Defender Kimberly Greene during his arraignment in Los Angeles County Superior Court on Feb. 23, 2026, in Los Angeles, California. Reiner is facing two counts of first-degree murder for the killing of his parents, Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner, in their Los Angeles home in December 2025.(Chris Torres-Pool/Getty Images)
Nick Reiner pleaded not guilty to murder charges on Monday following his arrest late last year in the stabbing deaths of his parents, renowned director Rob Reiner and Michele Reiner.
The 32-year-old faces two counts of first-degree murder with the special circumstance of multiple murders.
His public defender, Kimberly Greene, entered not guilty pleas on his behalf during his court appearance in Los Angeles on Monday.
He will remain in jail on no bail. His next court appearance has been scheduled for April 29.
Nick Reiner was set to enter a plea in January at a hearing in Los Angeles, before his defense attorney, Alan Jackson, withdrew from the case during the court appearance. Nick Reiner agreed to delay his arraignment and was assigned a public defender.
Jackson told reporters after court that he had to withdraw as Nick Reiner’s counsel due to “circumstances beyond our control, but more importantly, circumstances beyond Nick’s control.”
“Pursuant to the law in California, Nick Reiner is not guilty of murder,” he added. “We wish him the very best moving forward.”
A Reiner family spokesperson said at the time, “They have the utmost trust in the legal process and will not comment further on matters related to the legal proceedings.”
Nick Reiner made a brief first court appearance on Dec. 17, 2025, during which he waived the right to a speedy arraignment.
Since then, sources told ABC News that law enforcement and defense attorneys had been working to piece together Nick Reiner’s psychiatric and substance abuse history.
He has a documented history of addiction and substance abuse treatment, and friends have told investigators that his mental health had been deteriorating prior to the fatal stabbings.
Rob Reiner and Michele Reiner were found stabbed to death in their Brentwood home on Dec. 14, 2025.
The night before, Nick Reiner — who had been living on his parents’ property — got into an argument with Rob Reiner at a holiday party and was seen acting strangely, sources told ABC News.
Nick Reiner was taken into custody in downtown Los Angeles hours after the bodies were discovered.
Rob Reiner and Michele Reiners’ other children, Jake Reiner and Romy Reiner, said in a statement following their parents’ deaths, “Words cannot even begin to describe the unimaginable pain we are experiencing.”
“The horrific and devastating loss of our parents, Rob and Michele Reiner, is something that no one should ever experience. They weren’t just our parents; they were our best friends,” they said.
Sarah Michelle Gellar stars in ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer.’ (Getty Images)
The previously-announced Buffy the Vampire Slayer reboot is no more.
Sarah Michelle Gellar took to Instagram on Saturday to reveal that Hulu has decided not to move forward with the reboot Buffy the Vampire Slayer: New Sunnydale.
“I am really sad to have to share this, but I wanted you all to hear it from me. Unfortunately, Hulu has decided not to move forward with Buffy: New Sunnydale,” Gellar said.
Nora Zuckerman and Lilla Zuckerman were going to write and executive produce the reboot, which would have been directed and executive produced by Chloé Zhao. Gellar was attached to executive produce and star in the new series.
“I never thought I would find myself back in Buffy’s stylish yet affordable boots, and thanks to Chloé, I was reminded how much I love her, and how much she means not only to me, but to all of you. And this doesn’t change any of that,” Gellar said in her video. “And I promise, if the apocalypse actually comes, you can still beep me.”
Gellar captioned the video with the same parting line, which is a reference to a quote her character, Buffy Summers, said in the original show.
While on the red carpet for the 98th Oscars on Sunday, Zhao told Variety and CNN that she was “not surprised” by Hulu’s decision.
“I had an incredible, incredible time with Sarah, with all the cast and crew doing this,” Zhao said. “Our priority for Sarah and for us has always been to be truthful to the show, to be truthful to our fans. So, things happen for a reason, and we keep our hearts open and we welcome the mystery. And what this might lead us to.”
Disney is the parent company of ABC News and Hulu.
