Speculation of a Friends Reunited movie releasing on Max in 2025 has begun circulating online, kickstarting talk of a Friends reunion once again.
Friends may have ended over two decades ago in 2004 after a 10-season run, but the New York-set sitcom remains among the most popular of all time and continues to be enjoyed by many across streaming and cable repeats.
Friends Reunited Movie Rumors Explained
A new trailer posted on YouTube by Screen Culture claimed a new Friends Reunited movie is "Coming Soon" to Max.
The movie was branded as "The One With Chandler's Funeral" in reference to the passing of Chandler Bing actor Matthew Perry in October 2023, depicting a follow-up that reunites the cast to remember an old friend.
Unfortunately, this trailer is fan-made and the footage included is pieced together from the main actors' more recent movies and series. It also includes clips from 2021's Friends: The Reunion documentary special.
While this trailer for Friends Reunited is simply a fan-made fake, could a reunion movie or series ever see the light of day?
Many were left hoping a Friends follow-up was on the horizon in 2021 when HBO Max announced Friends: The Reunion. But this ultimately was not a continuation of the sitcom story and instead saw the original six leads revisit the sets and memories of the series in a special hosted by James Corden.
The only in-universe Friends content since the finale came with the two-season spin-off series Joey starring Matt LeBlanc which ran from 2004 to 2006. Ultimately, the series was canceled due to low ratings after receiving mixed reactions for steering too far from the character's familiar nature.
Will a Friends Reunion Ever Happen?
Co-creator Marta Kauffman ruled out a reunion or reboot when speaking with Deadline in 2019, explaining how nothing is "going to beat what [they] did:"
"We will not be doing a reunion show, we will not be doing a reboot. The show was about that time in life when friends are your family. It’s not going to beat what we did."
Co-creator David Crane also told The Hollywood Reporter in 2016 how the series finished "exactly the way [they] wanted to finish it" and resisting the saga all these years later would be "a bad idea:"
"We finished the show exactly the way we wanted to finish it. To revisit those characters just seems like a bad idea — you don’t want to see them hanging out in the coffeehouse now. And the good news is, you can see them whenever you want to. The show lives on with amazing vitality."
Rachel Green actress Jennifer Aniston told Variety in October 2019 that a Friends movie never happened because the "producers wouldn't want it" and was clear it has "not been without [the cast's] desire to:"
"Because our producers wouldn’t want it, wouldn’t let us. Look, it’s not been without our desire to, because our fans have wanted it so much."
Asked if there were points the cast was interested in a reunion, Aniston suggested it "would have been fun" to come together once again and they could have "redesigned it for a couple episodes:"
"It depends. I mean, we haven’t all sat in a room. But would we have loved to have done something together? Yeah. It would have been fun. We could have redesigned it for a couple episodes. But whatever. Maybe it’s better this way, but we’ll never know."
Ross Geller actor David Schwimmer told Megyn Kelly Today (via People) that he "really [doubts]" a follow-up will ever happen, especially as he isn't sure fans would want to see the now-older cast "with crutches [and] walkers.”
Phoebe Buffay actress Lisa Kudrow also chimed in on whether a reunion was likely on The Today Show (via RTE), noting that she "[doesn't] see it happen:"
“Me personally? No. I don't see it happening. It would be fun, but what would it be about? Think about it. The thing we liked best about the show was that they were 20-somethings and they were their own family. Now, they all have families, so what are we going to watch?''
Even Friends: The Reunion director Ben Winston gave a "categorically never" answer to The Hollywood Reporter when asked if the cast and creators would ever reunite for "another scripted episode:"
I can’t speak for them getting back together in another 15 years to do this sort of show. They might decide to do another show together to celebrate the 40th anniversary. Who knows! Will they ever do another scripted episode from getting to know them as a nine? Because it’s Bright, Kauffman and Crane plus the six? Absolutely, categorically never.
Any chance of a Friends reunion has long been slim, but the odds were dashed in October 2023 with the passing of Chandler Bing actor Matthew Perry. It's highly unlikely the remaining friends would be willing to come together with such a notable absentee, especially given how close they became during the run.
So, it appears Friends fans will simply have to continue enjoying the original ten seasons and rely on their own headcanons to determine where the six New York icons landed after the series ended in 2004.
Friends is streaming now on Max.
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