Eddie Murphy to host 'Saturday Night Live' after 35 years

After 35 long years, Eddie Murphy will be back to host the popular NBC sketch show 'Saturday Night Live' (SNL). According to media reports, Murphy will host the December 21 episode of the show.

SNL took to Twitter to announce the return of Murphy, on Monday.

Murphy was a regular member of the SNL cast from 1980 to 1984 and he also went on to host the show. Movie stardom followed soon and he left the sketch show only to make an appearance as a guest on the 40th anniversary edition in 2015. That was a blink-and-you-miss-it appearance.

Later, Murphy explained the reason for his brief appearance. He said he was asked to play Bill Cosby, who was battling sexual assault charges then, in a sketch but was not comfortable with the role. “There’s nothing funny about it. If you get up there and you crack jokes about him, you’re just hurting people,” he had reportedly said.

Murphy last hosted the show on December 15, 1984.

Meanwhile, SNL has also roped in big names like Woody Harrelson, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Taylor Swift and Billie Ellish for its upcoming season.

According to Variety, Harrelson will host the first episode of the new season on September 28, with Ellish set to perform and Waller-Bridge will host the October 5 episode, in which Swift will be the guest.

While this will be Harrelson's fourth appearance on the NBC late-night sketch comedy show, Waller-Bridge and Ellish are making their debut on the show. Swift has appeared on SNL twice before.

(With PTI inputs)