Even just a few months ago, fans would’ve assumed they were being trolled if news broke that *NSYNC was back together again on a red carpet. But in November of 2023, it’s true: The boy band reunited at the premiere of new animated film Trolls Band Together, to which the five guys contributed their first song in two decades, “Better Place.” 

Justin Timberlake, a Trolls franchise veteran whose soundtrack hit “Can’t Stop the Feeling!” topped the Billboard Hot 100 in 2016, was joined by his bandmates Lance Bass, JC Chasez, Chris Kirkpatrick and Joey Fatone at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood Wednesday night (Nov. 15). Looking sharp in an assortment of blazer jackets, they squeezed in for full-band pictures on the event’s purple carpet, where Trolls stars Anna Kendrick, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Eric André, Ron Funches, Camila Cabello and Zooey Deschanel also struck poses. 

The event marks  the first public outing Timberlake – who is reprising his role as Branch in the latest Trolls film — has made since the release of Britney Spears’ bestselling tell-all memoir, The Woman in Me, which contained numerous details about the two stars’ relationship, which lasted from 1999 to 2002. In the book, Spears wrote that she had an abortion during their time together, as well as how she felt “clinically in shock” following their split, which she said was initiated by the “SexyBack” singer over text message due to his desire to use her as “ammunition” for his album Justified.  

Timberlake, Bass, Chasez, Kirkpatrick and Fatone have been stoking the fires of their reunion since September, when they shocked fans by reuniting at the VMAs and presented Taylor Swift with the award for best pop. Even the “Anti-Hero” singer couldn’t help but wonder what was coming next for the “Bye Bye Bye” singers, using her acceptance speech to ask, “Are you doing something? What’s going to happen now?” 

Later that month, the band dropped “Better Place,” which debuted at No. 25 on the Hot 100. Aside from a string of press appearances, including Sean Evans’ Hot Ones series, the guys haven’t done much else – largely because of the Hollywood strike, which prohibited them from promoting new projects, as Bass explained in a recent interview. (The actors strike ended Nov. 8.) 

The good news is, Bass thinks “Better Place” is only the beginning for *NSYNC’s new chapter. “I don’t see this as our last thing,” he told Entertianment Weekly. “Because of this strike, I feel like we owe it to the fans again to rectify this and do something else.” 

Trolls Band Together hits theaters Friday (Nov. 17).