Movie fans, get ready to see Jimmy Kimmel take the stage again as he returns to host the Oscars for the fourth time.
The “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” host will emcee the 96th Academy Awards ceremony next year, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced Nov. 15. Molly McNearney, Kimmel’s wife and longtime producer of his show, will also serve as executive producer again.
Academy CEO Bill Kramer and Academy President Janet Yang celebrated Kimmel and McNearney returning for the 96th Oscars, which airs March 10 on ABC, in a statement.
“We are thrilled about Jimmy returning to host and Molly returning as executive producer for the Oscars. They share our love of movies and our commitment to producing a dynamic and entertaining show for our global audience,” Kramer and Yang said. “We are deeply grateful to Jimmy, Molly and their teams for their incredible creativity and partnership and for going on this ride with us again.”
In the statement, Kimmel joked, “I always dreamed of hosting the Oscars exactly four times.”
McNearney said, “I’m especially honored to be part of the Oscars team this year, when we are all eager to be back together and back at work.”
Kimmel has plenty of experience leading the broadcast, as he previously hosted the 89th Academy Awards in 2017 and the 90th ceremony the following year. He was also selected to lead Hollywood’s biggest night earlier this year for the historic 95th Academy Awards in March.
While standing on the Dolby Theatre stage, the comedian cracked multiple jokes throughout the night about the previous awards gala, which was hosted by Regina Hall, Wanda Sykes and Amy Schumer. A few quips referenced the infamous slap from the 2022 ceremony.
He immediately poked fun at the unexpected interaction between Will Smith and Chris Rock during his opening monologue.
“If anyone commits an act of violence during the show, you will be awarded the Oscar for best actor and permitted to give a 19-minute speech,” Kimmel said.
He added, “If anything unpredictable or wild happens during the ceremony, just do what you did last year: nothing.”
Although he missed out on that unforgettable moment, Kimmel has been involved in other shocking Oscar moments throughout the years.
When he hosted the ceremony for the first time, “La La Land” was mistakenly announced as the best picture winner before “Moonlight” was revealed to be the true recipient of the coveted prize.
The following year, he pretended to be haunted by the mishap in a promo video.
Fans will find out which nominees might be involved in Kimmel’s shenanigans next year when the official nomination list is announced on Jan. 23.