The Oscars Just Repeated Their Worst Ever Sci-Fi Snub

Does the Academy hold a grudge against science fiction movies? The 2025 Oscar nominations suggest that this idea is not far off. Dune: Part Two is this year's victim of the apparent lack of due regard for the sci-fi genre.

Both Dune films have been massive successes at the box office and among critics. Despite this, the two-part adaptation of Frank Herbert's novel has struggled to complete a proper awards season sweep. Dune did go on to win six Oscars in 2022 for its technical achievements, but there is one particular category snub that stands out. The Academy repeated it this year too, and it hurts the prospects of not just future Dune movies, but the entirety of science fiction.

Related

What Do You Think Was The Biggest Snub From 2025's Oscar Nominations?

Challengers not getting a nomination for Best Original Song or Best Original Score was a big surprise. It was also quite disappointing to see Furiosa not getting the recognition it deserved for its tremendous cinematography.

Posts

Dune: Part Two Gets Five Oscar Nominations

Josh Brolin Slams Academy For Snubbing Denis Villeneuve

Dune: Part Two was nominated in five categories at the 97th Academy Awards: Best Picture, Cinematography, Production Design, Sound, and Visual Effects. However, it was overshadowed by other films like Emilia Perez, which earned 13 nominations, followed by The Brutalist and Wicked, with 10 each. While five Oscar nominations are no minor feat, Dune: Part Two still pales in comparison to Dune: Part One’s ten. But the real shock here is the Best Director category, in which Denis Villeneuve was left out on both occasions. Here are Dune's nominees:

Denis Villeneuve's Best Director snub has created quite a stir among fans and peers, particularly his Dune cast member Josh Brolin. The actor didn't hold back from calling out the Academy for its failure to recognize Villeneuve's achievement. Earlier, Brolin had even declared that he would quit acting if Villeneuve didn't get nominated for Dune: Part Two. Now, the actor took to Instagram to address the snub:

Many others, like Spider-Verse producer Chris Miller, took to social media to share their admiration for Villeneuve's craft as well as their shock over him being left out of the Oscars race. Arguably, the Dune: Part One fiasco at the Oscars was even more puzzling than this. It was inexplicable how a film that managed to get nominated in almost every department could still leave its director out from being honored. Via Instagram, Josh Brolin agreed with this notion as well, at the time:

Sci-Fi Films Struggle to Win Top Awards

Denis Villeneuve’s Oscars Drought Continues

Villeneuve's only Best Director nomination dates back to 2016, for his sci-fi masterpiece Arrival. The Canadian filmmaker went on to make Blade Runner 2049 and the Dune films, none of which managed to earn him another prestigious nomination or potentially the award itself. But what's more troubling is that Villeneuve might have to switch gears to a different genre to increase his chances of winning.

Science fiction has never been an Oscars favorite for its marquee awards, and it looks like the trend is set to continue, at least for the near future. Even classics like Jurassic Park, Terminator 2, and Avatar have only managed to win awards for their technical achievements. In fact, the genre had a tough time gaining respect on the Oscars stage until films like 2001: A Space Odyssey and Star Wars put the genre on the Academy’s radar.

The last Best Director winners for films that at least resembled science fiction were the Daniels for Everything Everywhere All at Once, which is more of an absurdist comedy-drama, and Alfonso Cuarón for Gravity, though it wouldn't be considered a pure sci-fi studio blockbuster. So it's not entirely bleak for Villeneuve, but as he moves forward with directing Dune: Messiah, his Oscar snubs for Dune: Part One & Part Two are not reassuring.

2025 Oscar Nominations Spark Controversy

Villeneuve’s Snub Highlights A Divisive Year

This year, Villeneuve's omission from the Best Director nominees is particularly shocking, as he is arguably a stronger contender for the award than almost all the names on the list. And it's not just Dune. The films being honored this year particularly seem weak or unpopular compared to 2024's stacked lineup, which featured names like Oppenheimer, Barbie, Killers of the Flower Moon, and Poor Things.

The overall reaction to the 2025 Oscar nominations has been far from positive. Polarizing films like Emilia Perez, creating history for the most non-English Oscar nominations, as well as Wicked's Ariana Grande getting a nomination over Margaret Qualley's performance in The Substance, have all upset many.

Another example is Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross's exclusion from being nominated for Best Original Score for their work in Challengers, which was meant to make them front-runners for the award, not just nominees. Hans Zimmer, who won this award for Dune: Part One, was also notably left out of this year's nominees. However, this could be due to a different reason — potential disqualification for not meeting the eligibility requirements, related to the use of pre-existing music from the first film.

Dune: Part Two’s Timing May Have Cost Oscars

Recency Bias & Fan Preferences Hurt Villeneuve

Apart from the supposed unspoken prejudice against science fiction films, there's also another factor that has emerged at the Oscars: recency bias. Films released toward the end of the year often manage to find themselves among the nominees, mainly by staying relevant through word-of-mouth. The Academy chooses all its nominees and winners through voting by its members, and it's clear that Villeneuve couldn't secure enough votes to achieve a majority. Perhaps a release date closer to the awards season could have helped things here.

Another factor could be that some sections of the audience actually preferred Dune: Part One over Dune: Part Two. While the first film was mainly setting up the story, and much of the action actually happens in the second part, it did manage to do so better with more life-like world-building and cohesive storytelling. Some fans also had issues with the way Villeneuve adapted the original source material, particularly regarding what he chose to add or leave out. However, none of this explains or justifies the Academy's refusal to recognize the director's ability and vision that went into making this timeless sci-fi masterpiece.

Villeneuve Could Win Big With Dune: Messiah

Oscars Often Delay Honoring Great Directors

The Academy has been particularly notorious for its delayed recognition of filmmakers who are celebrated by audiences worldwide. A popular example is how Christopher Nolan had to wait until Oppenheimer to win his first Best Director Oscar, or how Martin Scorsese had to wait until The Departed to receive his. Legendary directors like Stanley Kubrick and Alfred Hitchcock have shockingly never won this award. Denis Villeneuve is also part of this list, but there's still time for him to get his hands on the coveted prize.

Regardless of the Academy's decision to honor him or not, Villeneuve is considered to be one of the best working directors in the world right now. Perhaps if things go well with the Messiah project, and it delivers an epic trilogy-ending finale, the Oscars might acknowledge the Dune franchise as a whole. This would be a repeat of how Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King won a record 11 Oscars, which felt fitting for all three Lord of the Rings films put together.

Rating block community and brand ratings Image

Dune: Part Two

Display card tags widget

PG-13

Science Fiction

Adventure

Display card community and brand rating widget Display card main info widget

Release Date

February 27, 2024

Display card main info widget end Display card media widget start Display card media widget end

• 

Where to watch

Close

WHERE TO WATCH

Streaming

• 

Checkbox: control the expandable behavior of the extra info

Cast

Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, Rebecca Ferguson, Javier Bardem, Josh Brolin, Austin Butler, Florence Pugh, Dave Bautista, Christopher Walken, Lea Seydoux, Stellan Skarsgård, Charlotte Rampling, Souheila Yacoub, Roger Yuan, Babs Olusanmokun, Giusi Merli, Kait Tenison, Tara Breathnach, Akiko Hitomi, Imola Gáspár, Elbooz Omar Ahmed Fathie, Abdelkarim Hussein Seli Mohamed Hassanin, Joseph Beddelem, Xavier Alba Royo, Rachid Abbad

Runtime

167 minutes

Director

Denis Villeneuve

Franchise(s)

Dune

Budget

$122 Million

Studio(s)

Legendary Pictures

Distributor(s)

Warner Bros. Pictures

Powered by

Expand Collapse