One Direction Reunion Buzz: Will Harry Styles Hit The Road On Netflix?

One Direction isn't exactly getting back together, but it's the closest we've been in years: Louis Tomlinson and Zayn Malik are reportedly teaming up for a multi-million-pound Netflix road trip doc. Not a full 1D reunion, not a concert film, but a cameras-in-the-car cross-country thing with two ex-bandmates who famously haven't worked together since 2015. Weird? Absolutely. Intriguing? Also yes.

What we know so far

• Per The Sun, filming is already underway on a Netflix documentary that follows Louis Tomlinson (33) and Zayn Malik (32) on a road trip across the United States.
• The premise: the two look back on their lives, their One Direction years, and the loss of Liam Payne, who died on October 16, 2024 at age 31 after a fall from a hotel balcony in Argentina.
• Harry Styles (31) and Niall Horan (32) have not been confirmed to appear.
• The project is expected to land next year, lining up with the 10-year mark since the band went on an "indefinite hiatus" in 2016.
• Insiders say the focus is on the guys and their history together, not a travelogue of roadside attractions.
• Netflix hasn't announced anything publicly; this is all via The Sun's reporting.

The timing, the tone, and the elephant in the room

A year on from Liam Payne's death, people close to the situation say the tragedy pulled the others back into each other's orbit. The remaining four were together for the first time since the hiatus at Payne's funeral. That context changes the whole vibe here; this isn't two pop stars hunting diners on Route 66, it's more like a grief-and-history trip with cameras rolling.

"It's likely to be a chance for some serious soul-searching and deep discussions about the incredible journey the group have already been on since they were formed on The X Factor 15 years ago... This will be an absolutely huge show for Netflix and is guaranteed to whip 1D's global army of fans into a frenzy."

— a TV source, to The Sun

Do I raise an eyebrow when a British tabloid promises a frenzy? Sure. But in this case, they're probably not wrong.

Why a US road trip actually makes sense

On paper, two British ex-boybanders driving around America sounds random. In practice, all of them have strong ties stateside. Louis spends big chunks of time in the US because his nine-year-old son lives here with his mom, stylist Briana Jungwirth. Zayn moved from the UK to New York in 2018 to be with then-girlfriend Gigi Hadid and now lives in Pennsylvania. Niall has owned a five-bedroom place in the Hollywood Hills for about a decade. Harry bought properties in LA and New York as his solo career exploded, and lately he's been investing more back in London. So, yeah, the American backdrop isn't really a stretch.

Quick refresher on the 1D timeline

The band formed on The X Factor more than 15 years ago and went supernova with What Makes You Beautiful, whose video took them to Malibu in 2011. The avalanche that followed: seven Brit Awards, four MTV VMAs, six Billboard Music Awards, seven AMAs, and the title of world's best-selling artists in 2013. Then Zayn left in 2015, the rest hit pause in 2016, and all five launched solo careers that actually worked.

The fan temperature check

Predictably, X melted down the second this hit timelines: all-caps freak-outs, people joking about calling in sick, and a surprising number of "I'm crying but in a good way" posts. A common theme: hoping this is cathartic for Louis and Zayn, and crossing fingers that Niall and Harry pop in somewhere down the road. The word "therapy" came up more than once.

The bottom line

Two-fifths of One Direction on a Netflix-funded US road trip, filmed and already rolling, with grief, history, and a decade of distance packed into the car. It's a strange idea that makes emotional sense. If Styles and Horan join at any point, Netflix can go ahead and clear its servers.