Jennifer Aniston stays upbeat as Friends reunion is delayed again by HBO Max until May 2021

Jennifer Aniston sounded unfazed about news that the highly anticipated Friends reunion would be delayed again until May 2021.

The 51-year-old actress said the ‘glass is half-full’ when it came to the postponement while speaking with Deadline on Friday.

‘It’s going to be super. You know what? This has also given us more time to make it even more exciting and more fun than it would have been,’ she said. 

Still excited: Jennifer Aniston, 51, was upbeat about the Friends reunion, which is now delayed to May 2021. ‘I choose to see it as the glass is half-full that it got postponed,’ she told Deadline; shown in January

‘I choose to see it as the glass is half-full that it got postponed,’ she continued. ‘Look, we’re not going anywhere. You’re never going to get rid of Friends, sorry. You’re stuck with us for life, guys.’

The highly anticipated reunion has been plagued with delays and HBO Max has now pushed the special back again due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, which is now surging in California.

Filming won’t take place until next ‘May at the earliest’, according to sources who spoke with Variety about the project on Friday.

‘Unfortunately it’s very sad that we had to move it again,’ Jennifer said. The Emmy winner is still excited about getting back to work as soon as it’s safe for everyone involved. 

‘It was, “How do we do this with live audiences?” This is not a safe time. Period. That’s the bottom line. It’s not a safe time to do it.’

Safety first: 'It was, "How do we do this with live audiences?" This is not a safe time. Period. That’s the bottom line. It’s not a safe time to do it,' said Aniston

Safety first: ‘It was, “How do we do this with live audiences?” This is not a safe time. Period. That’s the bottom line. It’s not a safe time to do it,’ said Aniston

Pushed again: HBO Max delayed the reunion again due to COVID-19 and filming won't take place until next 'May at the earliest', according to sources who spoke with Variety on Friday

Pushed again: HBO Max delayed the reunion again due to COVID-19 and filming won’t take place until next ‘May at the earliest’, according to sources who spoke with Variety on Friday

She may be optimistic about the prospects of the Friends reunion, but Aniston was negative on 2020 as a whole. 

‘I’m supposed to renew my drivers license and I don’t want it to say 2020 on it,’ she joked. ‘I just want to get 2020 out and behind us.’

News of the reunion delay came hours after as executives from Fulwell 73, the production company putting together the HBO Max special, confirmed to Deadline that the reunion was ‘poised’ to start shooting in two weeks.

A source close to the production told Variety that the special had been slated to film in August but was now been pushed to May in 2021 ‘at the earliest.’

The latest delay will likely disappoint Friends fans who saw a glimmer of hope for the reunion just a few hours earlier. 

Leo Pearlman, a partner at Fulwell 73, who is producing the reunion special, said he was ‘excited’ to start filming in the next two weeks in a Deadline article published Friday.

Two hours later, the outlet updated the piece writing: ‘Following the publication of this interview, HBO Max distanced itself from Fulwell 73 quotes about the Friends reunion being imminent.’

Confusion: Leo Pearlman, a partner at Fulwell 73, who is producing the reunion special, said in a Deadline article published Friday that filming was to start in the next two weeks but the story was later updated saying 'HBO Max distanced itself from Fulwell 73 quotes about the Friends reunion being imminent'

Confusion: Leo Pearlman, a partner at Fulwell 73, who is producing the reunion special, said in a Deadline article published Friday that filming was to start in the next two weeks but the story was later updated saying ‘HBO Max distanced itself from Fulwell 73 quotes about the Friends reunion being imminent’

They added that an insider is now saying the date for the shoot is ‘yet to be determined.’

Originally, the HBO Max special was supposed to air in May but filming hadn’t even gotten underway when the COVID-19 pandemic shuttered productions across the board.

Producers then set their sites tentatively on August or September – assuming that there would be no other coronavirus complications. 

‘We are hoping to be able to shoot in August, if all is well and there is no early second wave and the studio is open,’ Marta Kauffman, the co-creator of the TV series which aired from 1994 until 2004, told The Wrap in June. 

Delays: Originally, the HBO Max special was supposed to air in May but filming hadn't even gotten underway when the COVID-19 pandemic shuttered productions across the board

Delays: Originally, the HBO Max special was supposed to air in May but filming hadn’t even gotten underway when the COVID-19 pandemic shuttered productions across the board

Despite the delays, last month Friends star David Schwimmer confirmed that the reunion was ‘definitely’ still happening. 

The 53-year-old actor opened up about the plans for the HBO Max special during an interview with Today’s Hoda Kotb and Nick Mohammed.

Schwimmer seemed surprised that Hoda even asked, telling the AM host: ‘There is definitely going to be a Friends reunion. 

'We have a lot of the creative aspects of the show [worked out.] It's unscripted but there are going to be some surprise funny bits,' David Schwimmer dished in July

‘We have a lot of the creative aspects of the show [worked out.] It’s unscripted but there are going to be some surprise funny bits,’ David Schwimmer dished in July

‘We have a lot of the creative aspects of the show [worked out.] It’s unscripted but there are going to be some surprise funny bits,’ he dished.

‘The real question is when,’ David said. ‘We’re still trying to figure that out because we want to do it when it’s safe for everyone.’

When shooting does get underway, Schwimmer will be joined by Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt Leblanc and Matthew Perry as well as creators Marta Kauffman and David Crane. 

They'll be there for you: When shooting does get underway, Schwimmer will be joined by Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt Leblanc and Matthew Perry as well as creators Marta Kauffman and David Crane

They’ll be there for you: When shooting does get underway, Schwimmer will be joined by Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt Leblanc and Matthew Perry as well as creators Marta Kauffman and David Crane

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