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- Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson said on Twitter on Wednesday that he was asked to host the Oscars, and wanted to make it "the most fun and entertaining Oscars ever."
- But he had to decline because he is busy filming the sequel to "Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle."
- After comedian Kevin Hart stepped down, the Oscars will be hostless for the first time since 1989.
The Oscars will be hostless this year, but it could have been different if not for "Jumanji."
Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson tweeted on Wednesday that he was the Academy's first choice to host this year, and that he would have done it if his schedule permitted it. But he's busy filming the sequel to 2017's box-office hit, "Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle."
"Ah mahalo dude, I was their first choice to host this year, and my goal was to make it the most fun and entertaining Oscars ever," he said in response to a Twitter user who suggested Johnson host next year. "We all tried hard, but couldn't make it work since I'm shooting Jumanji. Academy and I were super bummed but maybe one day down the road."
The untitled "Jumanji" sequel, which will be the third movie in the series, is scheduled to hit theaters this December.
Comedian Kevin Hart was originally announced to host the Oscars, but stepped down after years-old homophobic tweets resurfaced. The Oscars will now be hostless for the first time since 1989.
Maybe the Academy should just hire Johnson right now for next year's Oscars.
The Oscars will air on ABC on February 24 at 8 p.m.
Read more of Business Insider's coverage of the Oscars:
- 'Black Panther' made history with its best picture Oscar nomination, but that doesn't mean the Academy has fully embraced the superhero genre
- The 11 biggest 2019 Oscar snubs that have us shaking our heads
- Netflix finally broke its Oscars curse with 15 nominations, including its first for best picture
- 'Green Book' has become an Oscar favorite, but controversies including an anti-Muslim tweet and genital flashing have piled up