The two-time host reenacted Sean Penn’s final scene from Paul Thomas Anderson’s film just after it clinched a Best Picture win.

Academy disposes of Conan O’Brien One Battle After Another-style in bonus post-Oscars sketch

The two-time host reenacted Sean Penn's final scene from Paul Thomas Anderson's film just after it clinched a Best Picture win.

By Sharareh Drury

March 15, 2026 11:47 p.m. ET

Conan O'Brien hosts the 2026 Oscars. Credit:

Disney/Frank Micelotta

**This article contains spoilers for *One Battle After Another*.**

Conan O'Brien may never host the Oscars again.

The host of the 98th Academy Awards appeared in a cheeky *One Battle After Another*-inspired sketch just after Paul Thomas Anderson's film won Best Picture, showing the late-night host meeting a similar end as Sean Penn's character, Col. Steven J. Lockjaw, in the film.

The sketch (which you can watch below) begins with O'Brien being congratulated on his hosting skills by legendary *Saturday Night Live* writer* *Jim Downey, who plays one of *One Battle After Another*'s white supremacist Christmas Adventurers Club members, for putting on a "great show" — so good in fact that he would be the Oscars host "for life."

"I don't know what to say!" O'Brien replies with a surprised smile, before being led to his new office at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Before O'Brien can get too comfy with the lifetime honor, though, deadly gas begins to leak from the ceiling.

Penn, who won Best Supporting Actor for his role in the action thriller, was unable to experience the Oscar moment firsthand as he did not attend the ceremony.

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"Sean Penn couldn't be here this evening, or didn't want to, so I'll be accepting the award on his behalf," last year's Best Supporting Actor winner, Kieran Culkin, said upon taking the statuette for his peer.

Per a *New York Times* piece published during the Oscars ceremony, the 65-year-old opted out of Hollywood's biggest night "to visit Ukraine, according to two people who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter." A representative for Penn declined to comment when reached by **.

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Ahead of O'Brien's post-show "demise," the comic entertained the star-studded audience with a variety of jabs and jokes, including jabs at President Trump and a timely knock on Timothee Chalamet's viral comments about ballet and the opera.

"Security is extremely tight tonight. Just gotta mention that," O'Brien said at the start of the show, seemling referring to reports that safety measures were increased due to the FBI warning of a potential "surprise attack" from Iran. However, O'Brien clarified that the real concern was "about attacks from both the opera and ballet communities."

Sean Penn in 'One Battle After Another'.

Chalamet and partner Kylie Jenner were spotted laughing at O'Brien, who got one more quip in by telling Chalamet, "They're just mad you left out jazz!"

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Source: “EW Academy”