Seth Rogen Says He Has “No Plans” to Work With James Franco Again

A Hollywood Partnership Still Looks Over

Seth Rogen has made his position clear again: he has not worked with James Franco in years, he has not spoken to him in a long time, and he has no plans to restart the partnership.

The comments came in a new interview with The New York Times, later covered by several entertainment outlets. Rogen was asked where things stand with Franco after years of distance between the two former friends and collaborators. His answer was direct, but careful. He said the matter has a public side and a personal side. He did not want to open up the personal side in detail.

That restraint matters. This is not just a story about two actors who stopped making movies together. It is tied to the sexual misconduct allegations made against Franco in 2018 and the lawsuit that followed. Franco later settled a lawsuit brought by former acting students in 2021.

Rogen did not present the situation as a simple headline. He said the personal side is too nuanced to discuss fully. But he also pointed to the record: he has not worked with Franco for years.

That is the part people can measure.

What Rogen Said

Rogen said his public stance has not changed. He said the proof is in the work history. There has been no reunion. No new movie. No new comedy project. No return to the old team.

He also said he has not talked to Franco in a long time.

That is the key update. Not because it is shocking. It is not. Rogen has been moving this way for years. But the new comments shut down the idea that a quiet reconciliation may be happening behind the scenes.

The main points are simple:

• Rogen has not worked with Franco in years.
• He says he has no plans to work with him again.
• He has not spoken to Franco in a long time.
• He says the personal side is too complicated to explain publicly.
• His current position matches what he has said before.

No big speech. No dramatic attack. Just a closed door.

Why This Still Matters

Rogen and Franco were once one of the most recognizable comedy pairings of the 2000s and 2010s. They first became linked through Freaks and Geeks, the short-lived series that later became a cult favorite. From there, they worked together across several major projects.

Their shared credits included Pineapple Express, This Is the End, The Interview, and The Disaster Artist. For years, the pairing had a clear brand: loose comedy, strange situations, and a public friendship that fed into the marketing.

That is gone now.

And it is not a casual pause. It has become a long professional break with a personal break sitting behind it.

For Hollywood, this matters because old partnerships are often revived. Studios love familiar duos. Audiences remember them. Nostalgia sells. If the relationship is intact, there is usually a path back.

Here, Rogen is saying there is no path he is planning to take.

The Allegations and the Fallout

In 2018, Franco was accused of sexually inappropriate behavior by five women in a Los Angeles Times report. Some of the accusations involved former students from his acting school, Studio 4. Two former students later filed a lawsuit accusing Franco and his partners of inappropriate and exploitative conduct connected to the school.

The lawsuit was settled in 2021 for about $2.2 million. A settlement is not the same thing as a trial verdict. But it did keep the issue in the public record and added pressure to Franco’s career and public image.

Rogen had already begun distancing himself from Franco. In 2021, he said he did not plan to work with him and made clear that he did not support abuse or harassment. He also said the controversy had changed their relationship.

The new comments do not move that position forward. They confirm it.

That is the story.

Franco’s Side of the Distance

Franco has also spoken about the broken relationship. In a 2024 interview, he said he had not talked to Rogen and described the loss as painful. He said they had shared many years together and suggested he had tried to reconnect.

Rogen’s latest comments suggest that did not lead to a repaired friendship.

There is no public evidence of a reunion. There is no public project bringing them back together. There is no sign that the old creative partnership is being rebuilt.

That makes the situation different from some Hollywood controversies where people step away for a short time and then return to the same circle. This has lasted years.

The Bigger Hollywood Question

This story sits inside a larger industry question: what happens after public allegations, apologies, settlements, and time?

Hollywood often wants a clean answer. People ask if someone is “back.” They ask if old collaborators will forgive them. They ask if audiences will move on. But real relationships do not work that neatly.

Rogen’s answer shows that. He is not trying to turn the issue into a public courtroom. He is not offering a full personal essay. He is saying, in plain terms, that nothing has changed for him.

That is enough.

It also shows the difference between public comeback and private trust. An actor may return to work. A studio may finance a project. A festival may show a film. But a former friend does not have to return to the old relationship.

That is the part people sometimes miss.

What Comes Next

For Rogen, the answer seems simple: he keeps working without Franco. His career has moved into producing, directing, writing, acting, and television. He does not need the old partnership to stay visible.

For Franco, the road is more complicated. He has continued trying to work, but the shadow of the allegations and the end of key industry relationships remain part of the story.

For audiences, the old films still exist. Pineapple Express is still Pineapple Express. This Is the End is still part of 2010s comedy culture. But the meaning around those films has changed because the people behind them have changed, and the public record around Franco has changed.

That happens. Culture does not freeze.

Bottom Line

Seth Rogen is not hinting at a reunion. He is not soft-launching a comeback project with James Franco. He is saying the opposite.

The partnership that helped define a period of studio comedy appears finished. Not paused. Not waiting for the right script. Finished, at least from Rogen’s side.

The message is direct:

He has not worked with Franco in years. He has not spoken to him in a long time. He has no plans to work with him again.

That is not noise. That is the answer.

Colleen Sturtevant / WikiPortraits