The 94th Academy Awards will be the first ceremony to have official hosts in three years and the first in 35 years to have three hosts.
THE 2022 Oscars, set to take place at Hollywood’s Dolby Theatre next month, will be hosted by three US comic actresses – Regina Hall, Amy Schumer and Wanda Sykes.
The announcement was made on Tuesday on ABC’s Good Morning America with comedian Amy Schumer joking that she “better go watch some movies”.
“I’m not sure who thought this was a good idea but I am hosting the Oscars, along with my good friend Wanda Sykes and Regina Hall,” Schumer continued whilst appearing on the show.
The ceremony will air on ABC on March 27 with each host responsible for an hour of the show. Jimmy Kimmel was the last celebrity to officially host the evening in 2018 while Kevin Hart was due to host the 2019 ceremony but stepped down from the role following some controversy over the comedian’s past usage of homophobic comments.
Kimmel was rumoured to take the reins for a second time this year along with Tiffany Haddish, Pete Davidson and Tom Holland.
But it was the trio of Hall, Schumer and Sykes that were chosen. Wanda Sykes is the creator and star of Netflix’s The Upshaws, and has also appeared on The New Adventures of Old Christine, Black-ish and Curb Your Enthusiasm.
Regina Hall is best known for her role as Brenda Meeks in the Scary Movie films, but she has also played roles in Girl’s Trip, The Best Man and The Hate U Give.
Schumer, who is probably the best-known out of the three hosts, has been on the stand-up comedy circuit for over a decade now. She made her big-screen film debut in the 2015 movie Trainwreck and hosted the MTV Movie Awards the same year, while her 2016 written memoir, The Girl with the Lower Back Tattoo, was a best-seller.
The show’s producer, Will Packer, called the team: “three of the most dynamic, hilarious women with very different comedic styles”.
As for the nominations, Jane Campion’s troubled western The Power of the Dog leads the way with 12, while big-budget sci-fi Dune is up for 10. Belfast and West Side Story come in at joint third with seven each. See a full list of the 2022 Oscars nominations here.