With Anya Taylor-Joy hosting the season finale of Saturday Night Live, many expected her to reprise her hugely popular — and award-winning — role from the limited series, chess prodigy Beth Harmon.
She did not during the telecast, which had a brief reference to The Queen’s Gambit in Taylor-Joy’s opening monologue. But it turns out she did transform herself into Beth in a sketch that was been cut for time.
In it, a slew of SNL cast members are pitching Taylor-Joy Queen’s Gambit-themed skits, including Queens Gambit (named after the burrow), in which Kate McKinnon portrays a woman with a strong Queens accent who plays chess against Taylor-Joy’s Beth in the basement of Beth’s orphanage where she first discovered the game.
Other pitches followed: Queen’s Eye for the Gambit’s Guy, Churstles (Hustlers+chess), Free Queenie, Queen’s Borat, Mr. Bean’s Gambit, Dairy Queen’s Damn Bitch and My Octopus’ Chess Teacher.
Taylor-Joy ultimately rejects all ideas but when the SNL actors leave, she grabs for her cell and makes a call.
“Hey Netflix, I’ve got our Season 2,” she says.
While Netflix’s The Queen Gambit was always intended to be a limited series, its enormous success sparked talk about a potential followup. There has been no evidence that a sequel would happen, but star Anya Taylor-Joy kept fans’ hope alive when she said, following her Golden Globes win, “never say never.”
Watch above the skit, which includes a subtle dig at Elon Musk’s recent SNL hosting gig.