Ghostbusters: Frozen EmpiredirectorJason Reitmanis set to trace the tumultuous first night ofSNLin his new filmSaturday Night, and we now have our first look at the cast of what Reitman calls “a comedy-thriller.” Starring the likes of Gabriel LaBelle as Lorne Michaels, Dylan O’Brien as Dan Aykroyd, Matt Wood as John Belushi, and Ella Hunt as Gilda Radner,Saturday Nightwill unfold in real time over the course of 90 minutes, and showjust what it took to bringSaturday Night Liveinto homes everywhereon July 12, 2025.
PerVanity Fair, the new images show the entire cast ofSaturday Nightin character, and feature a lot of denim and corduroy with a clear ’70s vibe going on. Wood looks fantastic as Belushi, while we think that Cory Michael Smith is especially sublime as Chevy Chase. There’s even a shot of Nicholas Braun as Jim Henson that looks so amazingwe can practically smell the patchouli. Check out the pictures courtesy of Discussing Film below.
Saturday Night Isn’t Just About One Man’s Journey
Saturday Night Live
The longest-running sketch-comedy/satire show on television, premiering in 1975, Saturday Night Live is a weekly series that features new hosts for each episode, with a core cast of actors and comedians that rotate over time. Episodes feature several skits that are sometimes ad-libbed on the fly, with the hosts engaging in most of them, and also provide musical guest performances that cap off each night.
First announced in 2023,Saturday Nightis a collaboration between Jason Reitman and Gil Kenan, who helped pen the script alongside theGhostbustersdirector. For research, the pair conducted interviews with those from that fateful night in 1975 that are still alive to help bring the reality of the situation to life. What was that reality? While it might seem like it was all fun and games, such was not the case, as behind the scenes it was a hectic ordealto bringSNLto television.
“It’s a thriller-comedy, if you may call that a genre,” Reitman says. “I always describe this movie as a shuttle launch, and the question was, ‘Would they break orbit?'” Created by Lorne Michaels,Saturday Night Livelaunched the careers of many, and in a serendipitous way, Reitman believes that his film can do the same for Gabriel LaBelle, who portrays the producer in the film, and has just a handful of credits to his name thus far.
“We meet Lorne as he’s still forming. He is a genius, and he has a vision beyond anyone else there—and anyone his age. It’s a lot for an actor to carry. In this movie, everyone gets to kind of screw around except for Gabe, who has to be the metronome.”
10 Funniest SNL Moments Where the Actors Broke Character, Ranked
Sometimes it’s just too much, and the actors can’t keep it together.
However,Saturday Nightisn’t just about one man. As Reitman points out, it’s about the journey of everyone involved thathelped makeSNLthe success it became, as back in the day it was unlike anything on TV. For him, he says the real villain in the movie is time, which brings with it that ticking-clock, thriller aspect that he mentioned before.
“This is about not only the first seven actors, but the writers, the art department, and everybody who came together at the last second to change television… This is a movie where the villain is time. It’s like our Sauron. Our Darth Vader is a clock, and you feel its presence at all times.”
Based on the photos alone, we can already tell that a lot of detail went into the production ofSaturday Night, so we have high hopes for this one. We’ll have more news on the project, including a trailer, as it gets closer to its October 11 release date, which happens to be49 years to the day thatSNLfirst premiered.
