Executive producers of the Oscars broadcast Katie Mullan and Raj Kapoor have confirmed that there will be a special Bridesmaids The reunion will take place during the ceremony on Sunday, and it will tease a Marvel reunion as well.
The duo participated in a press conference alongside host Conan O’Brien, music director Michael Bearden, production designer Misty Buckley and supervising choreographer Mandy Moore, moderated by Rotten Tomatoes Awards editor Jacqueline Cooley, on Wednesday.
“We have a huge reunion,” said Kapoor, who is also the director of the TV show. “There have been rumors about what this is, and we are very excited to announce that we have it Bridesmaid “The reunion will be very special.”
“There will also be a Marvel reunion for superhero fans. So we will have superheroes, and there will also be an extraterrestrial on stage. So you can find out,” Mulan added.
last week, diverse I mentioned that A Bridesmaids The reunion will take place during the telecast to celebrate its 15th anniversary. Rose Byrne, nominated this year for her performance in If I had legs I would kick youis set to appear with stars Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph, and Melissa McCarthy.
The EPs also answered questions about the In Memoriam section following the numerous deaths in the industry this year. “It’s been a really tough year this year, so In Memoriam has been something we’ve been talking about for months,” Mullan said. “This year we’ve lost a huge number of people who are very important to a lot of people in the film community. We take it really seriously. We’ve had many, many discussions. … It keeps changing right up to rehearsal, because we want to get the hit, the balance, just right and make sure it feels like the right moment in the show at the right time. So I think we can’t really get into the specifics of what this year will be like, but we really hope it’s a tribute that moves people’s emotions and feels like it touches the amazing people that we lost justice this year.”
When asked specifically how they plan to honor Rob Reiner, Kapoor said: “As Katie said, I don’t feel like we’re in a place where we want to share exactly what we’re doing for In Memoriam. All I can say is that a lot of time and thought has been put into the process of creating something that’s really meaningful and has a lot of emotion and heart.”
Additionally, organizers promised to beef up security measures, holding the press conference shortly after the FBI sent an alert to California law enforcement about a possible retaliatory drone attack by Iran. “We have the support of the FBI and the LAPD, and it’s a close collaboration. This show has to run like clockwork. But we want everyone who comes to this show, who witnesses the show, and even fans of the show when they stand outside the barricades, we want everyone to feel safe and protected and welcome, so it’s our job as a production team to make sure that translates,” Kapoor said.
Kapoor said the theme of the show this year is “Humanity”. “Everything you see in the show is inspired by the human touch and creativity, and we have completely redesigned the look of the theater.”
Buckley added: “Last year was very monolithic and temple-like, so this year, we’re kind of looking at reverent spaces, so we’re looking at beautiful light and organic form. We have a lot of architectural layers where there’s a lot of movement in the set, and they’re moving and revealing this beautiful light that the trees are casting. We have trees in the set this year, which is very exciting. And we’re really leaning into that natural, human-touch, organic touch with kind of beautiful, bold modern forms as well.”
Moore also wanted to keep this year’s theme of humanity and the human touch alive through her choreography. “We basically take songs from movies, and not just remake them as the movie did. We make them as a celebration of the movie as a whole,” she explained. “In particular, Demon hunters in kpop “Golden” performance, I kept watching this scene, and I talked to Raj about these beautiful golden flags. It’s very beautiful. Well, I was working on it today, and it was like, oh, I haven’t done much with the flags, but I was thinking on stage, after I saw the designs, I was like, oh, maybe this could make a nice air quality. And oh, they’re walking towards the diamond and it should all go up at this point when all the flags go out. We’ll see how it goes together on camera on Friday.
Specifically, Kapoor talked about how they celebrate SinnersThe most nominated film in the history of the Academy Awards.
“It’s not just about the song, it’s really about how Ryan is [Coogler] “I incorporated music and wove it into the entire story,” Kapoor said. “It’s a really beautiful package. We’re celebrating this movie with the costume designer, Ruth E. Carter, who’s come on board to help us. We’ve got Acumon Jones, who’s the choreographer on the movie, working with us. We’ve got this musical team as well, and then we’ve got all these amazing members, plus new people who weren’t even in the movie to come in and help celebrate that. So we’ve kind of blown it up. We’ve got the beautiful Misty Copeland making an appearance, and we’ve got all these talented dancers, and it’s going to be a real celebration of not just the song, but the movie Also.
Regarding the music, Bearden added: “We’re celebrating cinema, and as Raj said, we’re celebrating human touch, human connection, and what I like to call actual intelligence, rather than artificial intelligence. And we want to go back to community, to touch, to humanity. And so the music will reflect that. I like to liken it to a film score. So the music will reflect humanity, the human touch connection as the show flows, so how we created the show, the music will reflect the same way.”
O’Brien, who returns for the second year in a row to host the telecast, spoke about the differences in hosting this year compared to last. “Last year, there were fires, and I was displaced. I was working in a hotel, and a bunch of people I work with had lost their homes and/or were displaced. This year, I wake up in the morning in my own room, which seems like a small thing, but it’s a huge thing. So that’s very beautiful. And also, I was able to watch a movie that’s been playing all year in real time. And it’s an amazing year for movies. It’s really incredible by all accounts. All the movies. They’re so different. There’s so many different sounds, and so much art has gone into it, and I think it’s one One of the best years we’ve ever remembered, so it’s really cool to be a part of that.
In addition, the comedian also stars in this year’s Oscar-winning film: If I had legs I would kick you. “A lot of people think I played a crucial role in the movie,” he joked. “I think I elevated Rose’s performance. And if she wins, I think half the Oscar is mine. I really believe that, and I’m not deluded.”
During the Q&A portion of the press conference, O’Brien was asked how politics affected his monologue or the show as a whole, given that the country is currently at war.
“I’ve been brought in to do a hostess job, which I think is to reassure people and make them laugh,” O’Brien replied. “Last year, we acknowledged some of the things that were going on in L.A. that really impacted our entire creative community, and I think what’s going on in the world will be reflected throughout the show. My job is to always try to walk that very fine line, I think, between entertaining people and also acknowledging some of the truths. So it’s a dance. It’s a dance that continues until the show starts. I’ve been working for a really long time on material for the show with my book, and it’s still evolving, because we live in a very fast-paced world.” So the jokes that we thought of a couple of months ago are not relevant now, and there may be things that happen this week that will find their way onto the show…so all I can say is, I’ll use my best judgment and I also have a great sounding board here with Raj and Katie, and I think between us, we’ll find the right tone and the right places. “
Finally, the producers also revealed how to do it What do we do in the shadows? Actor Matt Berry came up to me became this year’s broadcaster during the telecast, which was announced earlier on Wednesday.
“It came from the Conan team, and when they brought up the idea, there were screams of joy and elation from everyone in our office, because he’s such an amazing character and so funny, and I think the only problem would be that we wanted him to announce absolutely everything on the show forever,” Mullan said.
“That would definitely be a problem,” O’Brien said. “My team and I are huge fans of Matt Berry, and have been for a long time. I think he’s one of the funniest people alive, and I’m a regular consumer of his internet craziness, his social media craziness and the different shows he’s worked on, and I think it’s fun. So, we came up with the idea, could we get Matt involved? And if you’re a Matt Berry fan, and a lot of people are, you might be watching the Oscars and thinking, ‘More Matt Berry!'” And I sympathize, because I’ll think about that too. I’ve never met him before, we’ve had a few conversations, and he’s a delightful person and obviously a genius so I’m thrilled he’s doing this.
The 2026 Academy Awards are scheduled to be broadcast live on ABC and Hulu from the Dolby Theater in Los Angeles on Sunday, March 15, starting at 4 p.m. PT.
Ahead of Wednesday’s press conference, Kapoor and Mulan also spoke Hollywood Reporter About their plans for this year’s show. Among other things, the duo provided interesting new details about how they are approaching the inaugural Oscar for Best Actor presentation; how they plan to address the unusually high number of deaths among movie legends since the last Oscars ceremony; And more. Plus, O’Brien was the cover star THRThe Oscars Edition, which you can find here.
