Despite speculation that Colin Jost would be departing from Saturday Night Live following the late-night show’s historic 50th season, Scarlett Johansson confirmed the comic would be returning in Season 51.

“He’s going back to work,” the actress told Entertainment Weekly at the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival, where her directorial debut, Eleanor the Great, is premiering.

The married couple last appeared on the Lorne Michaels-helmed show in the finale for Season 50, which featured the Jurassic World Rebirth star as host and Jost continuing his tenure as Weekend Update co-anchor alongside Michael Che. During the episode, Johansson became SNL‘s most frequent female host, and her opening monologue poked fun at potential cast departures for next season. Her appearance on Weekend Update also featured a full circle moment, as she lightheartedly forced Che to atone for his NSFW joke swap during the midseason finale.

As for whether Johansson would return on the segment this year, she said she was unsure: “I think that’s basically the MO over at 30 Rock is that everything is, like, moments before. It’s usually, like, Friday night before the Saturday show.”

Though speculation surrounding Jost’s departure was largely unfounded — conjecture based on his long tenure (he joined the show as a writer in 2005 and Weekend Update in 2014) and the fact that wife Johansson was hosting the final episode of Season 50 — Che has been vocal about wanting to exit, joking repeatedly he will do so each year. Viewers also saw potential in Michael Longfellow taking over the mantle this year, and the Bill Hader-esque comic was a mainstay on the segment during his time on the show. That’s why his exit came as a bit of a surprise last month, as he joined fellow departing cast members Heidi Gardner, Devon Walker and Emil Wakim.

The shakeups also included the departure of John Higgins, of the comedy trio Please Don’t Destroy; meanwhile, co-collaborators Ben Marshall and Martin Herlihy will remain on as cast and writer, respectively. New hires are Tommy Brennan, Jeremy Culhane, Kam Patterson and Veronika Slowikowska.