Jimmy Kimmel will return to host the Oscars for the third time, the producers announced, saying the star will be “ready for anything”.
The late-night US talk show host will present the ceremony in March 2023, five years after his last appearance at the helm.
Kimmel hosted the Oscar in 2017 – when he famously ran the chaotic final moments when La La Land was mistakenly named Best Picture over the real winner, Moonlight – and then again in 2018, which came within months of the #MeToo showdown in Hollywood.
Kimmel was hosting when La La Land was announced as the Best Picture winner in 2017, even though Moonlight had actually won. Pic: AP Photo / Chris Pizzello
“We are super excited to see Jimmy score his hat-trick on this global stage,” executive producers and showrunners Glenn Weiss and Ricky Kirshner said in a joint statement sent to Sky News. “We know he will be fun and ready for anything.”
“Being invited to host the Oscars for the third time is a great honor or a trap,” joked Kimmel. “Anyway, I’m grateful to the academy for asking me so quickly after all the good guys said no.”
After Kimmel’s hosting duties in 2018, the Oscars ceremony ran without a main presenter until this year’s ceremony, which saw Regina Hall, Amy Schumer and Wanda Sykes sharing the stage.
The 2023 show will be the 95th Academy Awards ceremony.
Academy CEO Bill Kramer and President Janet Yang have said that Kimmel will be “the perfect host”.
Molly McNearney, who is the co-writer and executive producer of the star’s show, Jimmy Kimmel Live !, and is married to Kimmel, will also executive produce the show.
After years of declining ratings, this year’s ceremony saw numbers improve, with 15.36 million viewers; however, this was compared to an all-time low in 2021, held between restrictions during the COVID pandemic.
How will Kimmel deal with ‘slapgate’?
Pic: AP Photo / Chris Pizzello
The 2022 ceremony made headlines for very different reasons earlier this year, due to Will SmithNow on stage is the infamous “slap” from award presenter Chris Rock.
Smith, who won the Best Actor award for his performance in King Richard later in the ceremony, was banned from the Oscars for 10 years as a result.
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However, his latest film, Emancipation, which will be released in December and tells the true story of “Whipped Peter” who joined the Union Army in the 1860s after escaping slavery in Louisiana, he may be in the running for a gong next year.
The Oscars bosses have said they are eager to move on from the controversy, but it would be strange for Kimmel to take the stage without referring to it in some way.
The 95th Oscars will take place on March 12 at the Dolby Theater in Los Angeles and will be broadcast live on ABC.
