Get your capes ready and your lightsabers charged, because the 53rd Annual Saturn Awards nominations are officially here! The Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror Films just dropped the list for 2026.
The big bash is happening Sunday, March 8, 2026, at the Universal Hilton in LA. And since you can’t have a party this nerdy without a bit of snark, the legendary Joel McHale is returning to host for his fourth year in a row. Honestly, at this point, he might as well live at the Hilton.
The Big Screen Heavyweights
This year is a total three-way tie for dominance! Leading the pack with a massive 12 nominations each are:
Avatar: Fire and Ash: James Cameron is doing James Cameron things, picking up nods for Best Sci-Fi Film, Director, and basically the entire cast (Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, and the crew).
The Fantastic Four: First Steps: Marvel is back in a big way! This one is cleaning up in technical categories and acting.
Sinners: Ryan Coogler and Michael B. Jordan are proving that thrillers can dominate too, grabbing nods for Best Actor and Director.
Right on their heels is Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein with 11 noms and Wicked: For Good with nine. Even James Gunn’s Superman took flight with eight nominations!
TV is Getting Crowded
If you thought the movies were competitive, wait until you see the television categories. Dexter: Resurrection is leading the charge with 6 nominations—turns out, everyone’s favorite serial killer still has it.
Tied with 5 nominations each are:
Andor (The Rebellion lives!)
It: Welcome to Derry (Bringing the scares to the small screen)
Stranger Things (Still the king of nostalgia horror)
We’ve also got some fresh blood in the Best New Genre Series category with heavy hitters like Alien: Earth, Star Wars: Skeleton Crew, and Spartacus: House of Asher fighting for the crown.
The Studio Scorecard
Who’s winning the studio wars? Warner Bros. is absolutely crushing it this year with 30 total nominations, followed by Disney with 22 and 20th Century Studios with 17. On the streaming side, it’s a dogfight between Netflix, Paramount+, and Apple.
“This year’s nominations really capture why genre fans show up year after year,” says Academy President Robert Holguin. “The imagination and scale are bigger than ever!”
Bottom Line: Whether you’re a Jedi, a Superhero, or a Final Girl, 2026 is shaping up to be an all-timer for genre fans. Tune in for the awards, and if you’re looking for the complete list of nominations, visit the official website.
