It seems that Eddie Murphy has taken another huge step towards returning to the limelight, because he’ll be hosting an episode of “Saturday Night Live,” the first time he’s done so since 1984. He was also a series regular from 1980-1984.
The news came Monday from the sketch show’s Twitter page, and Murphy will host on Dec. 21 for the usually much-watched holiday episode.
He made a short cameo on the series in 2015 for its 40th anniversary and turned down a request from producers to play Bill Cosby in a sketch.
And that was despite telling Jerry Seinfeld on the show “Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee” that Cosby often gave him a hard time about his raunchy stand-up routines in the ’80s.
“He wasn’t nice,” Murphy said of Cosby. “He wasn’t doing that with everybody, he was doing that with me specifically. He was sh-tty with me.”
During that same episode, which premiered in July, Murphy also said he’d be making a return to stand-up comedy, which many have been begging him to do. Because his specials “Delirious” and “Eddie Murphy Raw” are still considered, at least in some circles, to be the best comedy specials ever.
“I’m going to do it again. Everything just has to be right,” Murphy told Seinfeld. “You have to get up there and start working out.”
It’s also been reported the “Trading Places” actor is negotiating a $70 million deal with Netflix for a series of comedy specials.
The interview with Seinfeld and the return to “SNL” are just two major moves Murphy has made in his big return.
He’s also currently shooting the sequel to “Coming to America” with a star-studded cast. Plus, he’s starring as late comedian Rudy Ray Moore in the film “Dolemite Is My Name” that opens on Sept. 19.
Meanwhile, people were thrilled about Murphy hosting “SNL” again.
“I wish I could buy my ticket already,” one person wrote on Instagram.
“Anyone not freaking out about Eddie Murphy is wrong,” someone else tweeted.
