The winners of Sunday’s 94th Academy Awards will be announced by the most diverse line-up of presenters ever seen, though some of the choices for envelope-openers have led to much head-scratching. The usual gang of A-listers is present, though unexpected additions include DJ Khaled, professional surfer Kelly Slater, snowboarder Shaun White, and skateboarding icon Tony Hawk. Now a few more names have joined the line-up.
Aquaman star Jason Momoa makes sense given his bottomless charisma and commercial success, but we’re also getting Venus and Serena Williams. Admittedly the Williams sisters are now more connected to Hollywood than the trio of extreme sports stars named above, given that King Richard, a biopic of their father that they executive produced, is up for several gongs, though it’s still an odd choice.
The Hollywood Reporter broke the story, also confirming that Josh Brolin, Jacob Elordi, Jake Gyllenhaal, Jill Scott, J.K. Simmons, and Rachel Zegler have been tapped to present. Zegler recently made news when she revealed she hadn’t been invited to the ceremony despite starring in Best Picture nominee West Side Story, though this blunder has quickly been corrected.
The outlet also posted a full list of the remaining confirmed presenters, which includes Ruth E. Carter, Kevin Costner, Anthony Hopkins, Daniel Kaluuya, Rami Malek, Lupita Nyong’o, Yuh-Jung Youn, Halle Bailey, Sean “Diddy” Combs, Jamie Lee Curtis, Woody Harrelson, Samuel L. Jackson, Lily James, Zoë Kravitz, and Mila Kunis. Other presenters include Lady Gaga, John Leguizamo, Simu Liu, Shawn Mendes, Rosie Perez, Tyler Perry, Chris Rock, Tracee Ellis Ross, Naomi Scott, Wesley Snipes, Uma Thurman, and John Travolta.
We’ll also see Beyoncé Knowles-Carter, Billie Eilish, Reba McEntire, and Sebastián Yatra performing live in the Best Original Song category.
Like every time, there are going to be some upsets this year and it remains to be seen if the excellent but unfairly derided Don’t Look Up manages to scoop the Best Picture Award.
The 94th Oscar Awards ceremony will air on ABC on March 27, 2022, at 8 pm ET/5 pm PT.
