"that hasn’t come to fruition yet": Rose Byrne and Seth Rogen want a reunion with Zac Efron like Neighbors

During the red carpet event of Platonic season 2 in Los Angeles on July 30, 2025, co-stars Rose Byrne and Seth Rogen got nostalgic when talking to the press. It provided a spark of excitement among fans of their earlier work.

As Rose Byrne and Seth Rogen celebrated the return of their Apple TV+ series, they were asked whether they had ever thought of reuniting with their co-star Zac Efron in the box office hit Neighbors in 2014. Neighbors, directed by Nicholas Stoller, was a raunchy R-rated comedy that involved a young couple who find themselves at odds with a wild fraternity led by Efron’s character.

In response to The Hollywood Reporter, Rose Byrne noted:

“I don’t understand why that hasn’t come to fruition yet. Now, I have it in my head that’s what we need to do.”

Seth Rogen was quick to echo the same sentiment as his co-star. He name-dropped both Efron and Ike Barinholtz, fellow Neighbors alumnus, as the perfect additions to Platonic:

“We need to get Ike [Barinholtz, who also costarred in the film] and Zac in Platonic. That’d be great.”

Even Francesca Delbanco, co-creator of Platonic, has expressed support for the idea. She responded when questioned regarding a possible Efron cameo:

“It would be amazing stunt casting if we get [another] season and if he would do it. It would be so funny.”

The comments, though lighthearted, were not offhanded. They indicate a legitimate interest by both actors in a revival or crossover.

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About Neighbors

Released in 2014, Neighbors was a critically and commercially successful R-rated comedy. Seth Rogen and Rose Byrne played Mac and Kelly Radner, a young suburban couple who were adapting to life with a newborn baby.

Their peaceful routine is disrupted when a noisy college fraternity led by Teddy Sanders (Zac Efron) moves in next door. What follows is a progression of increasingly outrageous pranks and conflicts that collide, creating situational comedy with sharp observations on adulthood and responsibility.

The movie was also noteworthy because it combines emotional and slapstick comedy. It also introduces the audience to comic chemistry between Rogen, Byrne, and Efron. Neighbors' box office success led to a sequel, Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising (2016), cementing the trio as a part of modern-day comedy.

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Seth Rogen and Rose Byrne’s comedic reunion

After their previous hit with Neighbors, Seth Rogen and Rose Byrne teamed up again in the Apple TV+ series Platonic. In the show, they play two best friends, Will and Sylvia, in an action-packed yet chaotic relationship.

Rogen shared that he had started promoting continuity during the production of season 1. At the season 2 premiere, he told The Hollywood Reporter:

“As we were shooting the first season, I was kind of pushing for [creators Nicholas Stoller and Francesca Delbanco] to brainstorm how it could continue and how to not replace us with other people, and thank god they listened.”

Upon being questioned on the long-term creative partnership he continues having with Rose Byrne, Rogen emphasized the unpredictable nature of actor chemistry:

“You never know who you’re going to have good chemistry with. There’s people who are great friends in real life that have terrible chemistry on screen. I’ve had great chemistry with people I don’t particularly like that much, and so I’m very lucky in this situation where I have chemistry with someone who I actually like. So I think that’s why we keep working together over and over again.”

Rose Byrne echoed the same sentiment, attributing Rogen’s comedic instincts:

“Seth is funny on a molecular level, so you just sort of go in the magnetism of that, and we seem to have a really easy time together.”

Rose Byrne further added in the same interview, mentioning that working alongside him always feels “easy.”

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Platonic season 2 premieres August 6, 2025, and can be streamed on Apple TV+.

Edited by pratigya dhali