In the 97 years that the Oscars have been held, certain genres have always been downplayed, regardless of how the general public may feel about them at any given time in history. When it comes to science fiction, for example, only two entrants to the genre have actually walked away from the Best Picture Oscar, and both are more recent than you might expect. In fact, no sci-fi film won Best Picture until Guillermo del Toro's sci-fi horror romance The Shape of Water aired in 2017. Still, Del Toro's tale of a woman (Sally Hawkins) who falls for a lover (Doug Jones) managed to check all the necessary boxes at the time, winning best picture over the likes of Call Me By Your Name, Get Out , "Dunkirk," "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri," "Darkest Hour," "The Mail," "Lady Bird," and "Phantom Thread."

This was also the win that seemingly broke the seal on the sci-fi genre at the Oscars; Just five years later, directors Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert continued to sweep the Oscars with their own Best Picture-winning sci-fi hit Everything Everywhere All At Once. Daniels' incredible tale of alternate dimensions and the dream of doing laundry alone with someone was a huge success during the 2022 awards season, culminating in stars Michelle Yeoh, Ke Hui Quan and Jamie Lee Curtis all winning Oscars and confirming that scientific fantasy. he was finally getting some well-deserved (and long overdue) recognition from the Academy. That brings us to the present where, at the time of writing, another sci-fi picture has found itself in contention to win some shiny golden statuettes.

What about the likes of The Godfather Part II and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, the only sequels in history to win the Oscar for Best Picture (and considered one of the best movies of all time)is there a chance that Dune: Part II will join the ranks as a rare champion and another sci-fi genre contender receiving some well-earned praise? Not since Peter Jackson's initial departure from Middle Earth has a blockbuster epic like this been so beloved by critics and audiences alike, making it a film more than worthy of Academy consideration.

In addition to boasting impressive performances from the likes of Timothée Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson, and Austin Butler (all of whom deserve to be considered in the Oscar conversation), Denis Villeneuve's direction of the sci-fi marquee alone demands attention from the Academy . Indeed, "Dune" and "Dune: Part Two" star Josh Brolin even threatened to quit acting if Villeneuve doesn't get an Oscar nomination for his efforts on the Dune sequel (and he seems to be only half-joking). After triumphantly closing the book on Frank Herbert's unfilmable story, Dune: Part II certainly deserves to become one of the few sci-fi films to be crowned Best Picture on Oscar night. The Academy May Have Denied a Nomination for Hans Zimmer's Song for the Dune Sequel but there's no reason to sneer at Villeneuve and the rest of the film.

Who knows - with any luck, 2025 will be the year we add a third Best Picture award-winning sci-fi feature to the bunch.