'SNL 1975' Movie Casts 'Teen Wolf' Star as Dan Aykroyd

Actor Dylan O'Brien will play Aykroyd in this historical comedy.

By Michael Hein

The upcoming historical comedy film SNL 1975 has cast Dylan O'Brien as Dan Aykroyd, among other essential cast members. The new movie will depict the beginning of the legendary variety show and its equally iconic early cast members. There's no word on when the movie will premiere, but with many cast members announced, fans can begin to imagine how it will look.

SNL 1975 is directed and co-written by Jason Reitman and co-writer Gil Kenan. It is about the first-ever Saturday Night Live broadcast and the drama leading up to it. O'Brien was one of four cast members announced on Wednesday, along with Lamorne Morris as Garret Morris, Cory Michael Smith as Chevy Chase and Matt Wood as John Belushi, according to a report by The Wrap. Other previously announced cast members include Rachel Sennott as Rosie Shuster, Gabriel LaBelle as Lorne Michaels, Kim Matula as Jane Curtin, Cooper Hoffman as Dick Ebersol, Ella Hunt as Gilda Radner and Emily Fairn as Laraine Newman.

The logline for the movie reads: "On October 11th, 1975, a ferocious troupe of young comedians and writers changed television forever. This is the true story of what happened that night behind the scenes in the moments leading up to the first broadcast of SNL. The chaos and magic of a revolution that almost wasn't, as we countdown the minutes in real time to the infamous words, Live From New York, it's Saturday Night."

This movie will depict the unceremonious chaos that kicked off a comedy institution that would span decades, including all the seemingly random twists and turns that made it possible. For example, SNL found its time slot when Johnny Carson requested that NBC stop airing reruns of The Tonight Show on the weekends. According to a report by Collider, it was Ebersol who decided that a variety show might work, and selected Michaels to spearhead it. However, the show's opening night was nearly a disaster – several sketches were dropped near the end of the week when they were deemed too inappropriate for broadcast TV, signaling the start of the fast-paced production cycle. Meanwhile, the show's first host, George Carlin, became too intoxicated to participate in the sketches, though he did deliver three monologues.

SNL 1975 is in pre-production now. It has no release date – not even a year when the studio expects it to come out. In the meantime, you can stream all 49 seasons of Saturday Night Live now on Peacock.

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