Fresh off a much-talked about starring role in the coming-of-age film Lady Bird , Irish actress Saoirse Ronan will be hosting Saturday Night Live on December 2, when the long-running show returns after taking Thanksgiving weekend off. Keeping with the Irish theme, she will be joined by iconic rockers U2, who were announced as SNL’s musical guest for the upcoming episode.
According to a report from Deadline , the announcement was made on last night’s episode of Saturday Night Live , as host Chance the Rapper and musical guest Eminem confirmed that Ronan, 23, will be hosting the popular late-night show for the first time. The December 2 episode will mark SNL’s return after a one-week break for Thanksgiving weekend, with next Saturday’s show being a replay of the October 7 episode featuring Gal Gadot.
Saoirse Ronan’s Saturday Night Live hosting gig comes at a timely point in the young actress’ career, as multiple publications have hyped her up as a potential contender for a third Academy Awards nomination. As noted by the Hollywood Reporter , Ronan plays the role of an average, if “opinionated and strong-willed” teenager in Lady Bird , which is based on the teenage years of the film’s director, Greta Gerwig. Prior to Lady Bird , Saoirse received Oscar nominations for Atonement when she was 13-years-old, and again for Brooklyn at age 21.
DECEMBER 2! #SNL pic.twitter.com/Q2x6j00zci
— Saturday Night Live – SNL (@nbcsnl) November 19, 2017
Likewise, U2’s appearance also comes with a lot of buzz, as the Irish band will be releasing their 14th studio album, Songs of Experience , on Friday, December 1, one day before countrywoman Saoirse Ronan joins them on Saturday Night Live. The band also released the album track “American Soul” on Friday, with the new song being an alternate version of collaborator Kendrick Lamar’s song “XXX,” from his album Damn . As noted by Rolling Stone , the rapper also appears on another track from Songs of Experience , “Get Out of Your Own Way.”
At this point, it might be too early to predict what to expect from Saoirse Ronan and U2 when they appear on Saturday Night Live , as the next live episode won’t be for another 13 days. But U2 might have to focus solely on their newer material on December 2, as last night’s guest appearance from Eminem got a mixed reaction from SNL viewers, as reported earlier today by the Inquisitr . While some fans were happy that the 45-year-old rapper performed some of his older, better-known songs in a nine-minute medley, others critiqued him for the very same reason, with one fan commenting that the “time machine” medley made him appear “washed up and old.”
[Featured Image by Phillip Faraone/Getty Images]
