Conan O'Brien is returning to host the Oscars again next year
The 61-year-old comic proved to be a hit when he took the reins of the Academy Awards for the first time earlier this month and now ceremony organisers have confirmed he will be back in 2026
19 March 2025
And Conan joked he only agreed to return so he could hear the rest of 'The Brutalist' star Adrien Brody's speech after the Best Actor winner was forced to cut it short after speaking for a record-breaking five minutes and 40 seconds.
He quipped: "The only reason I'm hosting the Oscars next year is that I want to hear Adrien Brody finish his speech."
As well as Conan, ex ecutive producers Raj Kapoor and Katy Mullan will be involved for a third time, and Jeff Ross and Mike Sweeney will produce once again.
Academy CEO Bill Kramer and outcoming president Janet Yang said in a statement: "We are thrilled to bring back Conan, Raj, Katy, Jeff and Mike for the 98th Oscar.
"This year, they produced a hugely entertaining and visually stunning show that celebrated our nominees and the global film community in the most beautiful and impactful way.
"Conan was the perfect host - skillfully guiding us through the evening with humour, warmth and reverence. It is an honour to be working with them again."
Conan recently revealed Academy bosses intervened over one of his planned sketches because of their strict rules about the Oscar statue's image.
Speaking on his 'Conan Needs a Friend' podcast, he said: "They're very serious about certain things. There was a giant Oscar statue, and I shot something with it. It was really fun."
He explained an idea that would have seen him and the statue sharing an apartment as a warring couple but it was quickly quashed.
He said: "We're fighting about things couples fight about. At one point, I thought, oh, this would be really great if the Oscar was just on the couch.
"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?'
"We wanted to do it, and they just said, 'No, no, no, that can't happen.'
"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."
Conan and his Oscars head writer Mike Sweeney were also keen to put an apron on the 9ft statue to depict it as a housewife.
However, the Academy told them: "No clothing on Oscar. Oscar is always naked."
Conan noted: "I don't fault them, it's just this is what they do. The Oscar, the image of Oscar, is very important to them."
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