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Does the Academy hold a grudge against science fiction movies? The 2025 Oscar nominations suggest that this idea is not far off.Dune: Part Twois this year’s victim of the apparent lack of due regard for the sci-fi genre.
BothDunefilms 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.Dunedid go on towin six Oscars in 2022for 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 futureDunemovies, but the entirety of science fiction.
Dune: Part TwoGets Five Oscar Nominations
Josh Brolin Slams Academy For Snubbing Denis Villeneuve
Dune: Part Twowas nominated in five categories atthe 97th Academy Awards: Best Picture, Cinematography, Production Design, Sound, and Visual Effects. However, it was overshadowed by other films likeEmilia Perez, which earned 13 nominations, followed byThe BrutalistandWicked, with 10 each. While five Oscar nominations are no minor feat,Dune: Part Twostill pales in comparison toDune: 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 areDune’snominees:
Visual Effects
Denis Villeneuve’s Best Director snubhas created quite a stir among fans and peers, particularly hisDunecast 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 forDune: Part Two. Now, the actor took to Instagram to address the snub:
Apparently, I am going to quit acting because Denis Villeneuve didn’t get nominated. This is just how this thing works. It makes no sense to me.
Many others, likeSpider-Verseproducer 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, theDune: Part Onefiasco 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:
If the Academy Awards have any meaning whatsoever, they’ll recognize him. I don’t know how you get 10 nominations and then the guy who has done the impossible with that book doesn’t get nominated.
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 masterpieceArrival. The Canadian filmmaker went on to makeBlade Runner 2049and theDunefilms, 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 favoritefor its marquee awards, and it looks like the trend is set to continue, at least for the near future. Even classics likeJurassic Park,Terminator 2, andAvatarhave 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 like2001: A Space OdysseyandStar Warsput the genre on the Academy’s radar.
The last Best Director winners for films that at least resembled science fiction were the Daniels forEverything Everywhere All at Once, which is more of an absurdist comedy-drama, and Alfonso Cuarón forGravity, 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 directingDune: Messiah, his Oscar snubs forDune: Part One&Part Twoare 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 justDune. The films being honored this year particularly seem weak or unpopular compared to 2024’s stacked lineup, which featured names likeOppenheimer,Barbie,Killers of the Flower Moon, andPoor Things.
The overall reaction to the 2025 Oscar nominations has been far from positive. Polarizing films likeEmilia Perez, creating history for the most non-English Oscar nominations, as well asWicked’s Ariana Grandegetting a nomination over Margaret Qualley’s performance inThe 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 inChallengers, which was meant to make them front-runners for the award, not just nominees.Hans Zimmer, who won this award forDune: 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’sTiming 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 preferredDune: Part OneoverDune: 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 WithDune: 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 untilOppenheimerto win hisfirst Best Director Oscar, or how Martin Scorsese had to wait untilThe Departedto 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 theMessiahproject, and it delivers an epic trilogy-ending finale, the Oscars might acknowledge theDunefranchise as a whole. This would be a repeat of howLord of the Rings:The Return of the Kingwon a record 11 Oscars, which felt fitting for all threeLord of the Ringsfilms put together.
