Paul Mescal will host ‘Saturday Night Live’ in December

Few movie stars have been hitting the promotional circuit more wholeheartedly than Paul Mescal, who is currently selling Gladiator II. During an interstitial on the Nov. 16 episode of Saturday Night Live, we learned that that promotional tour as the show’s host. Shaboozey will be the show’s musical guest. Mescal will host the Dec. 7 show, which will be the show’s first episode following a three-week hiatus for Thanksgiving.

The episode is set to air two weeks after Gladiator II hits theaters. Mescal stars in the movie as Hanno, a former heir to the Roman empire who is forced to return to his home nation as a gladiator. This will be his first time serving as the sketch comedy show’s host.

Since starring in Normal People in 2020, Mescal has rapidly emerged as one of several young movie stars who may represent the future of Hollywood. He’s already earned himself one Oscar nomination for his performance in Aftersun, but Gladiator II represents his most mainstream movie role to date.

Saturday Night Live, meanwhile, is in the midst of celebrating its 50th season, and that season has already seen Ariana Grande, Jean Smart, Nate Bargatze, Michael Keaton, John Mulaney, Bill Burr, and Charli XCX serve as hosts.

The show will fully commemorate its 50th season with an episode on Feb. 16 that will air during prime time. Thus far in his career, Mescal has not done much straightforward comedy, and it will be interesting to see how he works within the confines of Saturday Night Live, which some talented actors handle better than others.