Ten years after “Don’t Think Twice,” Mike Birbiglia is finally returning to the director’s chair—and he has assembled an excellent young cast for the occasion.
Focus Features has greenlit “Old Friends New Friends,” a new ensemble comedy written and directed by Birbiglia. Lucas Hedges, Patrick Schwarzenegger, Geraldine Viswanathan, and Dylan Gelula will star.
The comedy follows a tight-knit group of college friends who reunite at a summer camp for an old friend’s wedding, only to discover that he has built an entirely new life—and acquired an entirely new circle of friends. The reunion forces the group to confront what they have lost, who they have become, and whether growing up inevitably means growing apart.
That premise puts Birbiglia back in familiar—and promising—territory. His terrific 2016 comedy “Don’t Think Twice” similarly examined the complicated mixture of friendship, ambition, jealousy, and disappointment within a close-knit improv troupe. “Old Friends New Friends” will mark his first narrative feature as a filmmaker since then.
The ensemble is especially strong. Hedges earned an Oscar nomination for “Manchester by the Sea” before appearing in “Lady Bird,” “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri,” and “Honey Boy.” Schwarzenegger recently broke out in the third season of “The White Lotus,” while Viswanathan’s credits include “Drive-Away Dolls,” “Blockers,” and “Thunderbolts*.” Gelula, meanwhile, has appeared in “Dream Scenario,” “Smile 2,” and “Shithouse.”
Since “Don’t Think Twice,” Birbiglia has largely concentrated on the autobiographical stage work that established him, taking both “The New One” and “The Old Man and the Pool” to Broadway before adapting them into Netflix specials. “The Old Man and the Pool” later earned an Emmy nomination, while his most recent special, 2025’s “The Good Life,” explored fatherhood, aging, and his relationship with his own father. Birbiglia has also hosted the creative-process podcast “Working It Out” since 2020, helped produce acclaimed solo shows by comedians including Alex Edelman and Jacqueline Novak, and occasionally acted, most notably appearing in “A Man Called Otto.” “Old Friends New Friends” therefore isn’t a comeback so much as his long-awaited return to narrative filmmaking.
Birbiglia will produce alongside Jacob Jaffke, whose credits include the “X” trilogy, “Dream Scenario,” and “Sleepwalk With Me,” and Joe Hartwick of Oddball Entertainment. Hartwick previously produced the “Maze Runner” films and “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes.”
Focus has not announced a production start or release date for “Old Friends New Friends,” but after a decade away from narrative filmmaking, Birbiglia’s return—especially with a cast this good—is exceedingly welcome. Hopefully, the wait won’t be too long.
