Glen Powell’s Saturday Night Live debut hasn’t even aired yet, but the internet has already declared him a winner. All it took was one promo, one cleaning cart, and one very committed attempt at “walking like Walken.” The result? A viral moment that has fans delighted, confused and ready to vote Powell into the Five-Timers Club before he’s even hosted once.
A tribute only the brave (and flexible) attempt
In the now-viral SNL promo, Powell hears a tune drifting out of a cleaning cart. Most actors would glance over politely. Glen Powell, however, chooses chaos. Channeling Christopher Walken’s legendary “Weapon of Choice” dance, he slides, struts and swagger-steps across Studio 8H as if gravity has simply resigned out of respect.The suit, the tie, the strangely weightless hip-shimmy — all straight out of Walken’s playbook. At one point Powell even attempts a flip that seems to terrify everyone except Powell himself.Somewhere, Lorne Michaels clutched his pearls.
Why Walken? Because Walken is foreverChristopher Walken isn’t just an actor; he’s a cultural category. He’s hosted SNL seven times, gifted the world the “More Cowbell” sketch, and once pronounced “Foo Fighters” with enough swagger to fuel a thousand TikToks.But the true Walken lore lives in that 2001 Spike Jonze–directed music video where Walken dances through a hotel lobby, levitates over furniture, and generally behaves like physics is something that happens to other people. Powell’s promo pays direct homage to that fever-dream of brilliance — right down to the shiny floors and quiet menace.It’s not imitation; it’s devotion.
The internet reacts: Walken so he could run (literally)
Once the promo dropped, social media rose as one. Fans declared that Powell had “achieved Walken energy,” which is normally only attainable at birth or by bargain with eldritch forces. Others reposted the clip side-by-side with the original Walken dance, noting that Powell’s footwork was shockingly accurate considering he was not, in fact, possessed by Walken’s ghost.One viewer wrote: “This is the most important cultural moment since the cowbell sketch.”Another added: “Did Glen Powell just soft-launch himself as America’s next weird-sexy uncle?”The consensus: hosting SNL was already exciting news — but walking like Walken is what made him immortal.
What to expect from Powell’s SNL debut
Powell is hosting the 15 November episode with musical guest Olivia Dean, and expectations are now borderline unreasonable. Fans want impressions. They want dancing. They want Walken references sprinkled throughout the night like comedy confetti.And Powell himself seems ready. Posting the promo, he wrote: “Spy Kids 3D finally paid off,” a reminder that his career started in a movie where everyone wore shiny plastic goggles and pretended to float through cyberspace. If he survived that, SNL is practically a spa day.
