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SNL taps Rogue One: A Star Wars Story’s Felicity Jones to host in 2017

By Hector Cruz

LONDON, ENGLAND - DECEMBER 14: Felicity Jones attends the 'Rogue One: A Star Wars Story' photocall at The Corinthia Hotel on December 14, 2016 in London, England. (Photo by Dave J Hogan/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - DECEMBER 14: Felicity Jones attends the 'Rogue One: A Star Wars Story' photocall at The Corinthia Hotel on December 14, 2016 in London, England. (Photo by Dave J Hogan/Getty Images) /
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Rogue One: A Star Wars Story lead Felicity Jones will be SNL’s first host of 2017.

English actress Felicity Jones will have her first go at hosting Saturday Night Live when the NBC sketch comedy series returns with new episodes in 2017. The Rogue One: A Star Wars Story star will get a chance to show off her comedic side during the upcoming Jan. 14 episode, with country artist Sturgill Simpson serving as the night’s musical guest.

Jones joins a growing list of first time hosts who have presided over the program this season, following in the footsteps of Margot Robbie, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Dave Chappelle, John Cena and Casey Affleck. The new faces, along with a controversial presidential campaign, have helped SNL maintain high ratings compared to recent seasons, while keeping the show in the news thanks to President-elect Donald Trump’s continuous complaints about Alec Baldwin’s portrayal of him on the series. The role earned the actor a Critics’ Choice Award earlier this month, along with his co-star in the debate sketches, Kate McKinnon as Hillary Clinton, though the pair were later snubbed by the Golden Globes.

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As for Simpson, the selection shows that SNL is starting to more frequently embrace the Nashville-based genre. Burgeoning country singer Maren Morris made her debut on the show earlier this month, while Chris Stapleton, Margo Price and Blake Shelton have all performed on the show in the past two seasons, with The Voice star pulling double duty as host. Simpson is nominated for Album of the Year and Country Album of the year for A Sailor’s Guide to Earth at the Grammy Awards, which take place Feb. 12th.

Jones was previously nominated for an Oscar for her role in The Theory of Everything. Her current film, Rogue One, continues to sit atop the box office charts, recently passing the $400 million domestic mark to become the second-highest grossing film of 2016 behind only Finding Dory, recently besting Captain America: Civil War.

Next: Stephen Colbert mocks Star Wars’ Rogue One boycott on The Late Show

Her selection is appropriate given that Star Wars: The Force Awakens villain Adam Driver hosted the first episode of 2016 last January in an episode where he parodied his character Kylo Ren. His co-stars Daisy Ridley and John Boyega also appeared in a Star Wars audition sketch two months prior. The SNL episode hosted by Jones may not only include a sketch surrounding the iconic franchise, but also a tribute to the late Carrie Fisher, whose monologue and a skit where she dressed as Princess Leia from when she hosted SNL in 1978 resurfaced following her death last week.

SNL returns Jan. 14 at 11:30 p.m. on NBC.

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