22 Years Later, The Best Boy Band Ever Is Back For An Adorable Reason

For parents of a certain age, the preponderance of Justin Timberlake in the Trolls franchise is an omnipresent reminder of how old we all are. Doesn’t it just seem like yesterday when everyone you knew was pretending to only like *NSYNC as a joke when really, deep down, we all just recognized that *NSYNC was simply legitimately great? And now, for parents who are feeling super old, get ready for this: It’s been over twenty years since *NSYNC released their last album together, Celebrity in 2001. But now, on September 29, *NSYNC is dropping a new single called “Better Place.”

This single is not leading to a new album or a reunion tour. But instead, is the result of Justin Timberlake calling in the boys — Joey Fatone, Chris Kirkpatrick, Lance Bass, and JC Chasez — for a favor. In the upcoming new Trolls movie, Trolls Band Together, Timberlake is back as the voice of Branch, and this time, it’s all about reuniting members of Troll boy band, BroZone. So, the reunion *NSYNC IRL is sweetly meta: A boy band in the Trolls-universe is getting back together, and so, the boys went back to the studio.

For those keeping score, Trolls Band Together is a direct sequel to Trolls World Tour, making it the third Trolls movie in the franchise overall. Released in 2020, Trolls World Tour was one of the few theatrical films that actually did extremely well during the lockdowns of that year. It positively slayed at drive-in theaters and was also (somewhat controversially) a huge hit as an on-demand movie purchase. For kids who got a Trolls-themed karaoke microphone in 2020, Trolls Band Together is possibly going to be the biggest family movie of Fall 2023. And while it seems unlikely that it will surpass the box office smash of Super Mario Bros. this summer, historically, the Trolls movie franchise has proven to be an unstoppable big deal.

So, add a little elder millennial nostalgia into the mix, and this could end up being a massive film. It’s tearing up our hearts that it’s been two decades since *NSYNC was still a “boy” band. But Trolls Band Together could be the best catharsis we’re going to have at the movies with our kids this year. Plus, if you don’t do an *NSYNC dance party with your kids at home after the movie, are you really even a parent?

Trolls Band Together hits theaters on November 17, 2023. Watch *NSYNC back in the studio in the video below.