Conan O’Brien will once again have the opportunity to roast Hollywood’s biggest movie stars at the 2026 Oscars .
The 61-year-old comedian, who earlier this month made his Oscars hosting debut , has been tapped to return to the stage next year.
“The only reason I’m hosting the Oscars next year is that I want to hear Adrien Brody finish his speech,” O’Brien teased in a statement.
Brody, 51, took home the Best Actor trophy for his lead role in The Brutalist at the 97th Academy Awards, where he brushed off the allotted 45-second time limit to deliver a record-breaking five-minute and 40-second acceptance speech .
Besides O'Brien, producers Raj Kapoor and Katy Mullen have also been verified as returning leaders for the show for another year.
“We are thrilled to bring back Conan, Raj, Katy, Jeff and Mike for the 98th Oscars!” Academy CEO Kramer and Academy President Janet Yang said in a joint statement.
This year, they put together a highly engaging and spectacularly visual event that beautifully honored both our nominees and the broader international filmmaking community. Conan served as the ideal emcee—skillfully steering us through the night with his wit, kindness, and respect. We are thrilled to collaborate with them once more.
The former Late Night The host's presentation at the 2025 Oscars garnered positive feedback from both critics and audiences alike, earning widespread acclaim. The Independent Adam White praised O'Brien for a "brilliant turnaround."
“Featuring digs at controversial Emilia Perez starring Karla Sofia Gascón and A Dune The sandworm was seen at the piano, and as for Jimmy Kimmel, "the comedian's initial barrage of one-liners compensated for many years of tedious unremarkableness," he stated.
In a recent appearance of his Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend podcast, O’Brien revealed the surprising rules around the treatment of the Oscar statuette .
Eager to put his spin on his opening monologue, O’Brien shared that he pitched several skits to the organizing committee that were rebuffed because they’d be considered too disrespectful to the trophies.
“At one point, I thought wouldn’t it be great if it’s just on the couch,” he recalled. “Let’s lay it on a really big couch and I’ll be vacuuming and say, ‘Could you at least lift your feet? Or could you at least get up and help? Load the dishwasher?’”
However, O’Brien and his team were told they couldn’t because the Oscar couldn’t be horizontal.
“One of the people from the Academy came forward and said, ‘Oscar can never be horizontal.’ And that blew my mind. Like, wow, this is like the thigh bone of St. Peter. This is a religious icon.”
The 2026 Oscars will again take place at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles on March 15, 2026.
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