UPDATED: The Oscars will return with a host, three years after it last had one.
The announcement came from Craig Erwich, president, Hulu Originals & ABC Entertainment during his TCA executive session.
The exec didn’t give any more details in terms of who will host the annual movie bash but joked that it might be him.
He also touted exec producer Will Packer, saying that he has “his pulse of popular culture”.
According to sources, Packer and the Academy have started to reach out to big Hollywood stars for the gig, with names like Dwayne Johnson believed to be among those on their wish list. Popular former hosts such as Chris Rock also have been approached we hear though securing someone is proving challenging during the pandemic.
There also is a possibility for the ceremony to have multiple hosts — sources said an idea for three celebrities hosting different portions of the telecast has been floated.
Erwich’s comments come after The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences set Glenn Weiss to direct the 94th annual Academy Awards for a seventh consecutive time.
The 94th Oscars, which is set for Sunday, March 27, will be held at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood and will be televised live coast-to-coast on ABC. Nominations are due February 8.
Jimmy Kimmel was the last person to host the Oscars in 2017 and 2018. Kevin Hart was set to host in 2019 but dropped out after old tweets resurfaced, forcing the 2019 show to go hostless. ABC didn’t have a host in 2020 or 2021.
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