Star Wars Beats Star Trek In Battle For The Most Awards
Star Wars or Star Trek? Well, this year Star Wars won an important awards battle against their interstellar rival!
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Who would win a battle between two media franchises whose titles start with the word “star?” Although both sci-fi franchises have some of the most devoted fans in the world, Deadline has reported that Star Wars has defeated Star Trek at the 46th Saturn Awards. To the shock of absolutely no one, the former franchise brought home seven awards across all its recent media installments, including the last of the new film trilogy The Rise of Skywalker, the animated series The Clone Wars, and Disney+ live-action exclusive The Mandalorian.
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, which was one of several films from last year’s award show season that were included in this year’s Saturn Awards won the coveted award for Best Science Fiction Film. The fact that The Rise of Skywalker won the award is the most surprising, considering it was the most heavily criticized movie in the sequel trilogy, if not the series. So much so that Daisey Ridley agreed with fans’ frustrations.
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker also racked up awards for Best Director (J.J. Abrahms), Best Special Effects, Best Make-Up, and Best Music (courtesy of legendary film composer John Williams). The Clone Wars, whose seventh and final season premiered on Disney+ after the first six aired on Cartoon Network, won Best Animated TV Series. The Disney+ Original smash hit The Mandalorian won for Best Presentation on Television (Under 10 Episodes).
Meanwhile, Star Trek: Discovery went home with two Saturn Awards. The series won Best Science Fiction Television Series, while Doug Jones — who plays Saru, the first Kelpian aboard Starfleet whose species was introduced in the series — won Best Supporting Actor on Television. If it makes fans feel any better, Patrick Stewart was named Best Actor for his iconic character’s spin-off show, Star Trek: Picard.
After the COVID-19 pandemic brought the entertainment industry to a standstill and studios delegated some of their films from theaters to streaming services and VOD for fans cooped up at home, the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Film extended the Saturn Awards eligibility period to run from July 15, 2019 through November 15, 2020 to make room for streaming exclusive contestants. That’s why Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, which originally premiered in theaters three months prior to the pandemic, along with the two Star Wars shows, were well-received at the show but Star Trek was left to bite the stardust.
There were some other sci-fi awards moments to be had at the awards ceremony beyond Star Wars and Star Trek. According to Collider, Christopher Lloyd, whose storied acting career spans multiple roles in sci-fi and fantasy movies and games, including Doc Brown in Back to the Future and Master Xehanort in Kingdom Hearts (as of the Re: Mind DLC following the death of Rutger Hauer) received the inaugural Robert Forster Artist’s Award. Writer and director Mike Flanagan also received the award, then told host and The Evil Dead star Bruce Campbell a story about sending him an email in the mid-90s asking for advice about his aspiring film career and eventually getting a response back.
