Easily one of the most successful and popular comedians to ever pass through the ranks at Saturday Night Live, Adam Sandler largely sidestepped television roles after making the leap to feature stardom. In fact, he's only graced the SNL stage a handful of times since departing the NBC mainstay in 1995, but he'll soon return in a huge way. Saturday Night Live revealed that Sandler is set to serve as guest host for the very first time.
That's right, Saturday Night Live fans will finally be able to watch Adam Sandler completely take over the episode set to air on Saturday, May 4. That obviously won't just be limited to a musical performance at the Weekend Update desk, as Sandler will be fully involved in most aspects of the episode. That said, it would be absolutely criminal if the entire episode played through without Sandler bringing his guitar out at least once.
For instance, if he plays that excellent Chris Farley tribute song from his Netflix special, it could easily bring the house down. I suppose having a hard-to-top performance like that might eclipse those set for the episode's actual musical guest, which will be the Canadian singer-songwriter Shawn Mendes in his second SNL appearance. Perhaps we could see a bizarre duet of some kind?
Saturday Night Live creator Lorne Michaels wasn't exactly loquacious when offering up this statement tied to Adam Sandler's hosting announcement.
We are happy to welcome Adam back to SNL in what is sure to be a special night.
Truly, there are innumerable ways for Saturday Night Live to spin Sandler's hosting gig into a special-and-then-some episode. The first thing that comes to mind, assuming the actor wouldn't balk immediately, is spending most of the runtime showcasing his most memorable characters and impressions. Considering fans got to see the return of Opera Man for SNL's 40th anniversary special a few years back, it's probably safe to say the writers will find ways to bring others back.
Maybe put Frank Dippy in some kind of a political debate? Or how about a reprisal of Adam Sandler's Charles Manson, what with all the recent Manson-related projects? I doubt his Bill Cosby will get used, but maybe he could take on Kenan Thompson's Cosby in a battle of the dooba-dabba scuzzoo. How timely would an Eddie Vedder impression be these days?
In the second place, Adam Sandler's return to SNL invites speculation about what other former cast members could also show up as surprise guests. Sandler still works with a lot of his past co-stars, such as David Spade, Tim Meadows, Chris Rock, Rob Schneider and more. Any of those might appear, or someone completely out of left field could show up. That's the fun of a first-time host; you don't quite know what to expect.
Also, Sandler is hosting on May 4, which is widely known as Star Wars Day. Could we possibly see him set up in some kind of an Episode IX sketch? Is Cajun Man actually one with the Jedi? MAKE IT CANON.
Beyond SNL, Adam Sandler's pipeline includes the feature Murder Mystery, which will the latest in a long line of Netflix exclusives, and is presumably what he'll be promoting. He's also got the crime caper Uncut Gems on the way.
Adam Sandler will return to the SNL stage for a full episode for the first time in 24 years on Saturday, May 4, at 11:35 p.m. ET.
