Jimmy Kimmel appeared with Jon Hamm, Charles Parnell and Billy Crystal for a comedy video to promote the Oscars, parodying Top Gun: Maverick.
As a recreation of one of the big scenes of the big sequence, the US comedian is given the “mission” to host the 95th annual event.
Dressed in a flight suit and aviator sunglasses, Hamm tells Kimmel he wasn’t “my first…or second, third, fourth, fifth or 11th choice” to host.
Kimmel’s “objective” in the skit is to direct the three-hour show on March 12, at the 3,332-seat Dolby Theater in Los Angeles.
In a nod to last year’s controversy with actor Will Smith, Parnell tells him “ABC has tasked us with finding hosts who can’t be slammed and can’t be slammed.”
“That’s good because I can’t be hit. I cry a lot,” Kimmel replied.
It comes after Academy president Janet Yang admitted the organisation’s response to Smith’s outburst, in which he clashed with comedian Chris Rock on stage, was “inadequate”.
Ms Yang told attendees of the annual Oscar Nominees Luncheon on Monday that the incident was “unprecedented” and “unacceptable”.
In the trailer, when asked what his “plan of attack” is, Kimmel suggests lots of music and dancing to kick off the show – ideas that are immediately shot down.
Kimmel continues: “Well in that case, that’s a big audience of very nervous celebrities so I’ll probably start with something self-deprecating to break the ice…
“…a funny story about how I’m wearing two sets of spanks, maybe about the magic of storytelling – they love that.
“Then I’ll direct an old man’s permanent grief and then if we get it done it’s only four or five hours until we get the best picture for the right movie, hopefully.”
Comedian and nine-time Oscar host Crystal then makes a surprise appearance as a “double admiral” – dressed in uniform – to cheer Kimmel on.
“Is there any way you could host?” Hamm asks him.
“No, I have a dentist appointment Sunday night…however I’ve been a host nine times before and I say give the baby a shot,” Crystal replies.
“You know I’ve hosted twice before,” Kimmel says.
“Seriously? I didn’t see it,” says Crystal.
The scene ends with Kimmel replacing his aviators and walking out of the hallway, while the famous Top Gun movie theme plays.