Over the years, “Saturday Night Live” has had a slew of hosts of all different kinds, but the one consistent factor has been that they’re all actual people. It’s true that not every host has been a celebrity, per say, as politicians like former NYC mayor Rudy Guiliani have hosted “SNL”, but something altogether new has been suggested -- A petition to get Ryan Reynolds to host “SNL”, but not as himself but as Deadpool, his character from the latest R-rated record-shattering movie Deadpool.
This new comes after a video leak of Kanye West's backstage blow-up while appearing as the musical act for host Melissa McCarthy’s episode. Why is this important, you may ask? Well, Reynolds Deadpool made a little video for show creator/runner Lorne Michaels, expressing his disinterest in taking up the mantle of hosting (NSFW):
While Deadpool says he refuses to host “SNL”, I really hope he changes his mind. The video above proves he’s primed and ready to do it. I know this isn’t Reynolds getting butthurt about not hosting the show before and having a character he plays doing it instead. The man has already hosted with Lady Freaking Gaga as the musical act. Plenty of people would kill to have a night like that. Plus, who wouldn’t want to see Deadpool pull a Kanye on the show and start begging people to invest in him… Oh wait, a whole studio already did!
I would like to think that our reality has been augmented enough that we can have a character hosting “SNL” instead of an actor or musician who's trying to promote something. One of the best episodes this year, and ranking pretty high overall, was with Larry David, who was just there because he’s funny. The man had nothing to promote. Deadpool doesn’t need any more publicity (a little more can’t hurt), but this would actually be hilarious to see, especially since Reynolds would presumably have to do the whole show with that mask on. Also, you may remember not too long ago they marketed Deadpool as looking like a run-of-the-mill rom-com on some billboards. Being that it was coming out on Valentine’s Day weekend, the idea was that this would be a way to get some guys’ girlfriends to go with them. If they do this, it’s one way of getting my grandma to see what Deadpool is. (I live to hear disgust in her voice over the phone.)
If this does actually happen, something else that’s incredible is the fact that Deadpool is probably the perfect character to be the first to pull something like this off. He constantly breaks the fourth wall (even going so far as to break the fourth wall within breaking the fourth wall, kind of like a 16th wall?) and is there to remind us that we’re reading a comic book or watching a movie. His hosting "SNL" would be some sort of magic trick that breaks so many different types of walls that it’s hard to fathom a term for it. Uber-meta? Deadpoolception?
Anyway, if you want to get in on the action, you too can sign the Change.org petition. As of this writing, they are only about 550 signatures away from their goal of 75,000!
(Screenshot via YouTube)
- Kevin Donaldson, YH Contributing Writer