Jon Batiste To Compose Score & Portray Musical Icon In ‘SNL 1975’ Film

Former The Late Show With Stephen Colbert bandleader Jon Batiste is (kind of) returning to late night television. Batiste is set to score the forthcoming film SNL 1975 and will also portray the late Billy Preston in the movie, as per The Hollywood Reporter.

Along with being a five-time Grammy winner — including Album Of The Year for his 2021 LP We Are — Batiste notched an Oscar win for scoring the 2020 film, Soul. He also nabbed an Oscar nomination in 2023 for co-writing “It Never Went Away” for Netflix’s American Symphony.

Batiste now turns his talents to SNL 1975, a film tracing the behind-the-scenes moments leading up to the first episode of NBC’s legendary live late night sketch show Saturday Night Live — which aired on October 11, 1975.

Jon will also play iconic keyboardist Billy Preston, who was SNL’s first musical guest, whose musical output includes funk and soul classics like “Will It Go Round In Circles,” “Nothing From Nothing” and “Outa-Space” as well as work with The Beatles and The Rolling Stones.

Jason Reitman (Thank You for Smoking, Juno, Ghostbusters: Afterlife, Frozen Empire) is directing SNL 1975. Jason is the son of Ivan Reitman who directed a number of beloved films with SNL cast members including Ghostbutsers and Animal House.

Along with Batiste as Billy Preston, cast members for SNL 1975 include Gabriel LaBelle as series creator Lorne Michaels, Dylan O’Brien (Dan Aykroyd), Ella Hunt (Gilda Radner), Matt Wood (John Belushi), Cory Michael Smith (Chevy Chase), Lamorne Morris (Garrett Morris), Kim Matula (Jane Curtin) and more.

A premiere date for SNL 1975 is yet to be released although 2025 will mark Saturday Night Live’s 50th anniversary.

Jon Batiste has appearances at Coachella and a hometown play at the New Orleans Jazz Fest plus spring and summer headline dates on the horizon. Check out Batiste’s tour routing with ticket info below.