IRight after this year's Oscar ceremony there is still a party going on, and with Anora, the film, which is a big winner, may progress through next weekend.
But, stupidly, here we have the annual, too-stood predictions of who will play what role this time next year. We'll bet early, but don't blame us in 2026…
Jeremy Allen White
Adrian Brody may have beaten Timote Chalamett to the Best Actor Oscar, but the latter was probably due to Whisker, who won the Screen Actors Guild Award the previous Sunday. Charamette's performance as the total unknown Bob Dylan was the latest in a long line of musical biopics that sparked voter interest (previous winners include Ramie Malek as Freddie Mercury, Jamie Fox as Ray Charles, and René Zelweger as Judy Garland), and almost as if they were made to be released as a box set. Bear Award Magnet Jeremy Allen White played the boss who delivers me from anywhere from Disney, focusing on one short chapter of the singer's life (1982 Creation of Nebraska). White may not look that much like Springsteen, but there is a reason to assume something big. It comes from Scott Cooper, who directed Jeff Bridges to Oscar in 2009's Crazy Heart and co-starred Oscar nominee Jeremy Strong, as well as recent Oscar nominee Jeremy Strong and John Landau and musician father.
Julia Roberts
One-time winner and three-time nominated Julia Roberts hasn't been involved in the awards conversation for over a decade, but is already early on for Luca Ga Danino's provocative new #MeToo thriller, post-Hunt. She stars as a university professor who has to tackle fallout from accusations of sexual assaults committed against a colleague played by Andrew Garfield. A Prime Release Date was given in October in a tweet from the Venice Film Festival Premiere (Guadanino previously released Susperia, Queer, Bigger Splash, I Love and Bone, etc.) and reactions from all of that Recent Test Screenings I suggest that it will become a major conversation starter.
Regina Hall
Paul Thomas Anderson's credits only one film did not receive one Oscar nomination. Punch Dorun Club, add unfairly. So, whatever he makes, it's safe to assume it's understated (even licorice pizza received the best photos), the academy informs. His next one is his never before, with a $130 million budget chase comedy fighting after another. This will be released everywhere this summer, including IMAX, a distinctive gambit for screenwriters. He has recruited Oscar winners Leonardo DiCaprio, Sean Penn and Benicio del Toro, but he also recruits the most interesting Regina Hall. The talent for the scared films and the lesser-used comedy that is best known for Best Man franchises will lead to playing the female lead. For a long time, the hall has shown to be not only very interesting, but also very attractive (check out Indie Darling Support The Girls in 2018).
Colin Farrell
Colin Farrell was close to recording his first victory from his first Oscar nomination when he was defeated by Whale Brendan Fraser in 2023 (he had already won the Golden Globes), but since then he has become a beloved surprise television. He has won multiple awards for his performance on the critically approved DC hit, and his engaging stage speech could be a preview of what we can expect next year as well. He is an adaptation of Netflix's The Ballad of a Small Player, Edward Berger's Lawrence Osborne, and leads the adaptation of Edward Berger, the quiet German director of all the Western Front and Conclaves. His last two films accumulated four mammoth wins and 13 nominations, as well as his latest films, about the gambler and con man, which also stars Oscar winner Tilda Swinton.
Spike Lee
This could draw closer to Inside Man, but another genre collaboration between Spikelee and Denzel Washington was more commercial play (the 2006 thriller is Lee's best-selling film), and there's reason to believe that at least two can also take part in the awards conversation. The A24 and Apple Film are a loose remake of the 1963 thriller High and Low about wealth and morality, with two winners and eight nominated Washington in the best supporting actor category, but the $AP Rocky playing the lead, and the rapper Sundance hit for sundance hit for sundance hit for sundance in sundance for sundance hit for sundance for sundance hit for sundance for sundance for sundance for sundance for sundance for sundance for sundance for sundance for sundance for sundance for sundance for sundance for sundance for sundance for sundance for sundance for sundance for sundance for sundance for sundance for sundance for sundance for sundance for sundance for sundance for sundance for sundance for sundance for sundance for sundance for sundance for sundance for sundance for sundance for sundance for sundance for sundance for sundance for sundance for sundance for sundance for sundance for sundance for sundance for sundance for sundance for sundance for sundance for sundance for sundance for sundance for sundance for sundance for sundance for sundance for sundance for sundance for sundance for sundance for sundance for sundance for sundance for sundance for sundance for sundance for sundance for sundance for sundance for sundance for sundance for sundance for sundance for sundance for sundance for sundance for sundance for sundance for sundance for sundance for sundance for sundance for sundance for sundance for sundance for sundance for sundance for sundance for sundance for sundance for sundance for sundance for sundance for sundance for sundance for sundance for sundance for sundance for sundance for sundance for sundance for sundance for sund
Amy Adams
Her role in the poorly received dark comedy night bitch may not have propelled her to this latest Oscar race (though she received a Golden Globe nod), but six Oscar nominations are even more secure bets under her belt. She has two films that could potentially be a candidate this year from directors who previously netted nominations for female actors. First, it is Taika Waititi adapted for Ishikawa Kazuo's dystopian sci-fi novels Klara and The Sun, starring Adams alongside Jenna Ortega and Natasha Lyonne. Then, from the films of female director Kornel Mundolcitutu, Adams plays a woman who has just left rehabilitation.
Noah Bambach
There are many reasons to worry about Auteur's decision to partner with Netflix, but with Noah Baumbach's Sad and Spiky Diverce Saga, the 2019 marriage story, we saw one of the benefits. Despite Scarlett Johansson's presence, the film, which remained a boutique release elsewhere, was suddenly everywhere. It also became Baumbach's most rewarding film, and after being further recognized for his work in Barbie, he created his true follow-up, the star-studded comedy Jay Kelly. Like many of his best films, it's been described as a “heartbreaking comedy” about friends who struggle to grow, and this seems like one of the surest things here, as George Clooney, Adam Sandler, Jim Broadbent, Laura Dern, Billy Crudup, Riley Kew, Greta Gelwig, Patrick Wilson, Eeve Hewson, Isler Keuch, and Isler Keuch fisherman Baumbach really didn't miss out.
Dwayne Johnson
It's when the A-Lister stars are really sloppy and when their most interesting gamble is being made. Think Sandler is digging deep into his dark side with his uncut gems, or Jennifer Lopez will reach a new career with Hustler. Dwayne Johnson hopes to boost his later voice of respect that he has not yet been given. Like an uncut gem, it involves at least one Safdy (this time Benny as a writer-director without the Josh brothers) and follows the ups and downs of real-life fighter Mark Kerr, who suffered from painkiller addiction. He also stars his Jungle Cruise co-star and recent Oscar nominee Emily Blunt. Johnson said he is at the point of his career, hoping to “make a critical film,” and the academy has been nose-raising with recent loose similar dramas (fires and unstoppable fires from last year), but the saffdi of it all hints at a bit of a grittier.
Chloe Zao
Chloe Zao's groundbreaking victory in 2021, when she became the first woman of colour to win the Oscars' best manager at Nomadland, was slightly dampened with her follow-up, the Drab Marvel Dad Eternals. It could potentially be given a better idea of what it is to the next adaptation of Maggie O'Farrell's award-winning novel Hamnet. It is the fictional story of Shakespeare and his wife after the death of his 11-year-old son, who was believed to have inspired Hamlet. Oscar left Paul Mezcal and Jesse Buckley to the candidates, with Oscar winners Sam Mendes and Steven Spielberg appearing as producers, pushing it probably to the top of the candidates.
Andrew Scott
He was brutally ignored by all of us (Bufftas, also criminal oversight), and his recent award for Ripley has been overshadowed by both Richard Gadd and Colin Farrell, but Andrew Scott's continued career still appears to include Oscar nod. It may come from his lead performance in a very award-friendly pressure package, a British historic suspense drama from a working title. Based on David Haig's acclaimed play, it tells the story of Scott's meteorologist. Scott meteorologists must determine the feasibility of the weather in a planned D-Day attack. Australian director Anthony Maras has created the 2018 seat edge thriller Hotel Mumbai and knows he knows the academy's love for World War II. This may be a solid favourite.
