The 98th Academy Awards are gearing up for a star-studded ceremony, with last year's Oscar acting winners — Adrien Brody, Kieran Culkin, Mikey Madison, and Zoe Saldaña — confirmed as the first quartet of presenters. This announcement was made by show executive producer and showrunner Raj Kapoor, alongside executive producer Katy Mullan, marking a continuation of the Academy's longstanding tradition of having prior acting victors bestow honors upon the new wave of winners. Brody, who secured his second Best Actor statuette for his role as an architect and Holocaust survivor in “The Brutalist” (after “The Pianist,” 2002), and Madison, recognized as Best Actress for her portrayal of the titular stripper in the dramedy “Anora,” are set to return. They will be joined by Culkin, honored for his snarky cousin in “A Real Pain,” and Saldaña, who won for her performance as a struggling attorney in the Spanish-language musical “Emilia Pérez,” both of whom swept last season's televised precursor awards.

The Academy frequently utilizes variations of this tradition, sometimes “gender-swapping” presenters where male winners present actress prizes and vice versa, or employing a “fab five” format where multiple past winners from a category salute nominees. While the specific categories that Brody, Culkin, Madison, and Saldaña will present have not yet been disclosed, further presenters are expected to be announced in the weeks leading up to the ceremony.

This year's nominations are prominently led by Ryan Coogler’s intense vampire saga, “Sinners,” which has made history with an unprecedented 16 nominations. Following closely is Paul Thomas Anderson’s political action epic, “One Battle After Another,” a film acclaimed for its searing examination of radical politics, garnering 13 nods. Both critically acclaimed features are vying for Best Picture, alongside other significant contenders such as “Bugonia,” “F1,” “Frankenstein,” “Hamnet,” “Marty Supreme,” “The Secret Agent,” “Sentimental Value,” and “Train Dreams.”

As the awards season approaches its climax, key indicators for Academy momentum will emerge from upcoming events. These include Sunday’s 79th BAFTA Awards, the Producers Guild of America Awards on February 28, and The Actor Awards (formerly known as the SAG Awards) on March 1. The final voting period for the Oscars is scheduled from February 26 through March 5. The telecast itself, hosted by Conan O’Brien, is set to air live on March 15 at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT from the iconic Dolby Theatre at Ovation Hollywood. Viewers can catch the ceremony broadcast on ABC and stream it live on Hulu, with the event reaching audiences in over 200 territories worldwide.