The Academy Awards have not featured a host for the past three years, but three female comedic actors will reportedly helm the ceremony this year.
Wanda Sykes, Amy Schumer and Regina Hall are in final discussions about hosting the ceremony, according to a report by Variety.
However, it's yet to be confirmed.
Details about the ceremony will be announced on US broadcaster ABC's Good Morning America later today.
ABC, owned by Walt Disney Co, is hosting the ceremony that, because of the time difference, will be broadcast in Australia in the morning of March 28 on Channel Seven.
The ceremony will return to its longtime home, Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, after last year's event was scaled down because of the pandemic.
Last week, Variety reported the Academy would not require people attending the ceremony to show proof of vaccination.
Attendees will have to return a negative COVID-19 test before entering, with unvaccinated guests reportedly being subject to "additional and more stringent testing requirements".
Who is Wanda Sykes?
A stand-up comedian with ties to Curb Your Enthusiasm, Sykes was a writer for the Chris Rock Show, has a recurring role in Black-ish, appeared in Broad City and stars in the Netflix sitcom The Upshaws, which she created.
On the big screen, she's appeared in Bad Moms and Monster In Law.
She has also lent her voice to animated characters in the Ice Age franchise and cartoons such as BoJack Horseman, Bob's Burgers and The Simpsons.
Who is Amy Schumer?
Schumer also rose to fame as a stand-up comedian, appearing on television shows such as Curb Your Enthusiasm and 30 Rock before winning an Emmy for her variety sketch show Inside Amy Schumer in 2015.
She's also starred in films such as Snatched, I Feel Pretty and Trainwreck, which she also wrote.
Schumer has teased the possibility of the hosting gig on her Instagram, posting a reel of career highlights with the caption "big news comin'" yesterday.
Who is Regina Hall?
Hall's career kicked off with her role as Brenda in the horror spoof Scary Movie and, despite her character's serious repeated injuries, she went on to appear in three more instalments of the franchise.
She has also appeared in Black-ish, with roles in Black Monday and Nine Perfect Strangers, plus credits in Ally McBeal and Law and Order: LA.
Hall worked with Will Packer, who will be producing the awards show, in the film Girls Trip.
Were there other plans for the ceremony?
Packer was weighing up a three-act structure with three sets of emcees.
He was supposedly in talks with John Hamm about hosting, but Variety reports the Madman actor exited discussions over the weekend.
Former hosts Chris Rock and Steve Martin were also invited to take part, but according to the New York Times, scheduling conflicts foiled those plans.
There were suggestions Spiderman stars Tom Holland and Zendaya could host the awards after the Film Updates Twitter account asked who would be a good for the job.
But while Holland told The Hollywood Reporter in December he'd "love" to host the awards if he was asked, that clearly didn't come to fruition.
Public vote on new awards
There's also been two new awards added to the Oscars line-up this year, which will be decided by a public vote.
The Oscars Fan Favourite asks for people's favourite movie of 2021, while the Oscars Cheers Moment award will go to movie fans' most cheer-worthy moment in a film ever.
However, it looks like the competition is only open to US movie fans.
Wait, why were there no Oscars hosts?
The last time the Oscars had a host was in 2018.
Kevin Hart had been confirmed as the 2019 host, but when homophobic comments he'd made on Twitter almost 10 years prior resurfaced, the Academy gave him an ultimatum.
"Kevin, apologise for your tweets or we're going to have to move on and find another host," Hart said he was told.
Hart said he passed on that apology because he said he'd addressed the comments "several times" before, but still made a point of apologising when he announced he wasn't going to host the ceremony:
So the 2019 ceremony went on without a host for only the second time in the ceremony's long history.
The host-free ceremony was so successful it was repeated in 2020, putting a greater focus on the individual presenters and big musical numbers, the Academy said.
Last year's ceremony was also host-less.
The COVID-19 crisis had a major impact on the event, which was held at a historic Los Angeles train station in front of a small audience.
ABC with Wires
