Four-time Oscars host Jimmy Kimmel has passed on the chance to join the Academy’s five-timers club, according to Puck.
In March this year, the 96th Academy Awards ceremony shocked basically everybody watching when it went off without a hitch.
A particularly optimistic-looking year for Hollywood probably helped. The blockbuster phenomena of Barbie and Oppenheimer meant the ceremony had none of the “nobody’s seen these films anyway” feel which has dogged the awards since 2019, and gave those involved the confidence more-or-less required of the Hollywood mythos.
No shortage of credit has to go, though, to the man brought in to steer a still very leaky-looking ship on the night. After parachuting in to (hopefully) minimize the chance of on-stage violence as seen in the 95th ceremony the year before, Jimmy Kimmel’s return made it look like the Academy might finally have found a safe pair of hands willing to take on the gig for the foreseeable future. There was every chance he could have continued in the footsteps of legendary host Billy Crystal – who held the job for four consecutive years between 1990-1993.
Read more: What do we want from ITV’s Oscars coverage?
Alas, poor Oscar, it wasn’t to be. Puck is reporting that Kimmel ruled himself out to take up the mantle again earlier this summer, while the producers’ next choice, John Mulaney, has also turned the gig down over scheduling conflicts.
Mulaney was previously considered a favourite for the job after a hilarious turn presenting the Governors Awards last season. His extensive crowd-work and stand-up experience, plus an apparently genuine knowledge of and love for the movies, would have made him about as ideal a candidate as the Academy could find. Still, Mulaney fans, there’s always next year…
Still, the news does make it sound like the Academy is continuing to take its producing responsibilities a bit more seriously than previous years. Contrast this with the disastrous 2022 ceremony, which was reportedly approaching Only Murders In The Building stars Martin Short, Steve Martin and Selena Gomez as late as February after Kevin Hart dropped out.
Who, then, could step into Kimmel’s very dependable shoes? I’m starting a campaign for Thelma's June Squibb, personally.
The 97th Academy Awards will be held on Sunday, 2nd March 2025.
