Saturday Night Live with Daniel Craig: What to watch for

Daniel Craig returns to host Saturday Night Live for the second time with The Weeknd as the musical guest.

Bond is back. For the second time, Daniel Craig will host Saturday Night Live and it should be a very interesting episode to watch for fans.

Craig last hosted in Oct. 2012 just weeks before the release of Skyfall, his third outing as the iconic spy James Bond. Now he’s back to promote No Time to Die, his fifth and final time playing the role.

For Saturday Night Live, it is episode 15 of season 45. It means we are in the final third of the season that has seen the typical share ups and downs of since premiering back on Sept. 28. Craig follows John Mulaney, whose third time hosting saw a ratings dip hit the show.

Can Daniel Craig get Saturday Night Live back on track? The buzz around No Time to Die, both good and bad, could certainly help. Here’s what SNL fans can look for this weekend.

Biden’s big week

It is fitting that Daniel Craig is hosting during a week in which former Vice President Joe Biden is in the spotlight. Like Craig’s James Bond character, a number of performers have taken a crack at portraying Biden on Saturday Night Live. Each has brought something different to the table as SNL tries to nail down the possible Democratic nominee for president.

The season started with host Woody Harrelson playing Biden then again two more times. Jason Sudeikis then returned to the role for multiple appearances before it was passed to John Mulaney for last week’s cold open.

So what will SNL do this week after Biden’s big victories on Super Tuesday? Sudeikis’s version would seem like the best fit to lampoon Biden’s gaffes during his post-primaries celebration. Harrelson is currently filming Venom 2, meaning he is probably unavailable. Mulaney could be asked back but his take didn’t exactly make a splash.

Could Craig be the next host asked to be Biden? It would be a surprise but then again, it was a surprise when the actor was tapped to be James Bond.

If the show needs to find yet another option, a dark-horse candidate could be found in the building. SNL could do much worse than asking Jimmy Fallon to bring his Tonight Show version of Joe Biden over to Studio 8H in a pinch.

The James Bond effect

No Time to Die made headlines earlier this week when it was announced the release date would be pushed back due to coronavirus concerns. Instead of an April opening, the 25th James Bond film will instead hit theaters on Nov. 12.

It is not often that a host comes to Saturday Night Live to promote something eight months away but that is now the situation for Craig. It will be worth watching to see how the actor will address the issue as well as how SNL handles the coronavirus story itself.

The show has already made jokes about the virus in “Weekend Update” and during last week’s “Airport Sushi” sketch. Now that it has become an even bigger story and spreading in the U.S., how will SNL cover it, if at all? Stay tuned.

Daniel Craig’s return to the show also gives SNL another chance to add to its library of James Bond sketches. It also gives Craig one more chance to have some fun with the career-changing character and there is no better place to do that than SNL.

Pete Davidson watch

Last week, we suggested keeping an eye out for how Saturday Night Live would potentially address more drama surrounding Pete Davidson. The cast member gave a headline-grabbing interview detailing tension between himself and others at the show as well as indicating he may be done with the show.

Page Six followed that up with reports suggesting that cast members were annoyed with Davidson’s “star treatment” and his absence from last week’s after-party was the source of more drama.

Wisely, SNL did not reference the story about Davidson during John Mulaney’s episode. Instead, the comedian was featured prominently in one of the night’s best sketches “Uncle Meme.” Hopefully that strategy is used once again even as more stories from behind-the-scenes are spread online.

There is a very small sliver of SNL fans who care about these kind of stories. Instead, they want to be entertained with funny sketches and be able to move on to the next show. Daniel Craig is promoting No Time to Die which features actor Rami Malek as the antagonist. And who at SNL does a Rami Malek impression? It could be Pete Davidson’s chance to shine this week.

What are you expecting this week from Daniel Craig on Saturday Night Live? Let us know in the comment section below and be sure to check back with Last Night On for all the highlights and more.