Rumors are swirling that a musical *NSYNC reunion may be on the horizon, and naturally, fans are freaking out. On Aug. 18, Entertainment Tonight reported that the upcoming “Trolls Band Together” movie might just be, in fact, getting the band back together.
Following the release of the trailer for the third installment of Dreamworks’ Trolls franchise, which hinted at a boy band reunion for Justin Timberlake‘s character, Branch, a source told ET, “JC Chasez, Lance Bass, Joey Fatone, and Chris Kirkpatrick are expected to have surprise roles in the third Trolls film, ‘Trolls Band Together,’ with Justin Timberlake.”
According to the insider, the ’90s boy band will also release a new song for the film, which would mark their first musical collaboration since their 2001 hit “Girlfriend.” Both Dreamworks and Universal did not respond to POPSUGAR’s requests for comment.
On July 24, Bass poked fun at *NSYNC’s reunion speculation on his Tiktok, captioning a video, “Me staring at the incoming call from my manager after I made another joke on TikTok about *NSYNC getting back together.” Chasez also teased a possible reunion in an Aug. 16 video for his Meow Mix campaign. When asked if he got some inspiration from Tabby 5, he responded, “I think working with the Tabby 5, it has left me thinking about other boy band ventures. You never know what could happen.” And let’s not forget that for Chasez’s 47th birthday in August, Timberlake posted a snap of him and his former band member in the studio on his Instagram Stories.
The band’s appearance at the 2023 VMAs, where they presented the award for best pop on Sept. 12, further fueled rumors they plan to drop new music. Taylor Swift won the award and said what everyone else was thinking in her acceptance speech: that *NSYNC has to be planning something big.
Immediately after *NSYNC presented the honor, the VMAs went to a commercial break, and a short trailer for “Trolls Band Together” aired. While the trailer’s music began with Timberlake’s 2016 “Trolls” hit, “Can’t Stop the Feeling,” it swiftly transitioned into a different, currently unreleased song, including lyrics like, “Take you to a better place…” that could be *NSYNC’s rumored new song.
Then, after their VMAs moment, Timberlake posted a video on X (formerly known as Twitter) of the group riding in an elevator reminiscent of scenes from their 2000 “Bye, Bye, Bye” music video. “So five guys walk into an elevator,” he wrote alongside the video. The official “Trolls” account reposted the clip, further suggesting that the group is involved in “Trolls Band Together.”
If the rumors are true, it’s likely *NSYNC can’t explicitly promote the new song because of the ongoing writers’ and actors’ strike, but all signs are pointing to a reunion. Only time will tell.
