Reunion's Lil Rel Howery and Michael Hitchcock Talk Joining a Murder Mystery and Forming Long-Lasting Friendships

Reunion releases on Digital on June 28th.

By Haley Miller

Lil Rel Howery and Michael Hitchcock star in director Chris Nelson's high school reunion comedy that comes with a murderous twist. With an incredible cast that boasts the likes of Nina Dobrev (The Vampire Diaries) Chace Crawford (The Boys, Gossip Girl), Jillian Bell (Good Burger 2, Brittany Runs a Marathon), Billy Magnussen (Road House, No Time To Die) and Jamie Chung (Once Upon A Time, Lovecraft Country). In the film, a group of unlikely individuals return to their hometown for a reunion hosted at the home of a former jock who has now turned rich. Set in the middle of a snowstorm, many of the guests leave before they can get snowed in but for the rest, the uncover a horrifying scene the next morning and realize that the killer is likely still among them.

Wanting To Join the Murder Mystery Genre

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(Photo: Republic Pictures)

"Yeah, I wanted to be in a hilarious murder mystery movie. You know what I mean? And I think that is one of the things that has taken it to another level cause it's actually funny," Lil Rel told Comicbook. "'Cause sometimes I think some of these murder mystery movies take themselves too serious. But Reunion, we play into the comedy, and I love that. And every character is unique. We did a good job of making sure that you can think it's anybody, literally anybody, because everybody had the same kind of beef and problem with who got murdered. So, you know, it's the comedy and it's the great job they did with making sure all of us look guilty."

"And, I mean, and I also signed up for the cast to work with Lil Rel because Get Out is one of my favorite movies," Hitchcock added. "I know Jillian Bell, She's a friend of mine, but to get to actually work with her on a day to day basis is such a treat. Chace Crawford -- I love The Boys, It's one of my favorite shows of all time. Billy Magnussen is so cool and so funny in real life. And just everybody, Jamie Chung and Nina Dobrev. It just was great. And then Nina brought along her boyfriend, Shaun White, who ended up being in the movie. So there you go."

Lil Rel goes on to discuss Dobrev who also told Comicbook that the pair have formed a bond since working on Reunion as well as 2023's The Out-Laws. "And then Nina, so Nina became my set bestie because of that. It's so interesting how, me and Jillian worked together before, but everybody was so, so funny and so fun to work with. Like, I'm not even just saying. I know people just say that sometimes, I'm dead serious. Like, we all truly got along and laughed a lot. We laughed a lot."

Reunion's Emotional Ending

When I mentioned how well their dynamics play off of one another and that it was obvious they were a tight-knit group just from watching the movie, they were appreciative to that fact, explaining that the most important part was being able to see their chemistry. "I'm glad you saw that, too. I think that's the most important thing about this film, is that you can actually see the chemistry that we had off screen translate to on screen," Lil Rel explained. "And I liked the fact that all of us was rooting for each other. Like, when I got a chance to do the stuff at the end, I love how supportive the cast was for that. 'Cause it was a lot for me to do, but everybody was so supportive and that's how I got through that."

"When people see the film, without giving anything away, I think Lil Rel has a speech that's maybe eight minutes," Hitchcock said. "I mean, it's really long, but it's good. It's so funny, but also emotional. And he killed it. It was so cool. Just, you know, we got to watch a play. Watching it was really, really fun."

In truth, Lil Rel's character does have quite a lot of depth, more than you would typically see in a "comedy" actor's role, but he expertly shows his range and is easily one of if not the absolute standout in this movie. Lil Rel reflected to Comicbook about getting that opportunity and how the emotion and heart drew him in. 

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"Well, that's what drew me to the movie, too. I like the depth my character has and the emotion in it and the heart in it. And some of that stuff, too, we kind of had to play with while we were doing it. You know what I mean? To change some things up, because as we were doing it, you could be like, 'I started thinking, this should have a little more depth, more emotion here and there.' But that was another thing, too. Between working with Chris and the writers and Billy and Jillian and all the producers, It was a good collaboration. I like the fact that we would meet after most days and really sit down and say, 'hey, let's think this out a little better.'"

Reunion releases on Digital on June 28th.

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