Blake Lively & Anna Kendrick Reunite at SXSW for Another Simple Favor

Blake Lively & Anna Kendrick Reunite at SXSW for Another Simple Favor—But One Response Raises Eyebrows

Fans of A Simple Favor have something to celebrate—Blake Lively and Anna Kendrick are back for the highly anticipated sequel, Another Simple Favor! The two stars made an appearance at the 2025 SXSW Film & TV Festival in Austin, Texas, where they signed autographs, posed for selfies, and took part in a Q&A session alongside director Paul Feig and co-star Henry Golding.

When asked how it felt to reunite with Kendrick, Lively, 37, kept things short and sweet. “Oh, it’s the best,” she said with a smile, clearly enjoying the moment. Meanwhile, Kendrick, 39, gave a much more cryptic response when asked about working with Lively again. “Oh, you know,” she said, seemingly in a hurry to meet fans. Her brief reply raised some eyebrows, leaving people wondering if there’s more to the story.

Later that night, during the film’s Q&A, the pair seemed relaxed and friendly on stage, laughing together and chatting throughout the discussion. Lively even called her character Emily “my favorite character I’ve ever been fortunate enough to play” and admitted that filming the original movie had been nerve-wracking at first. “We didn’t know if we were making a drama or a comedy, so we asked Paul, and he just said, ‘Yes,'” she joked.

This time around, the story takes Lively’s character Emily and Kendrick’s Stephanie to the stunning island of Capri, Italy, for Emily’s extravagant wedding to a wealthy businessman. Lively admitted she was skeptical about filming in such a lavish location, calling it “very expensive,” but she quickly fell in love. “Now I want to live there,” she said, gushing about the local ice cream, lemons, and even the hat selection.

Director Paul Feig, 62, was just as thrilled to be back in action. “I had such a great experience on the first one,” he told PEOPLE. “I love working with the two of them, as well as the rest of the cast.”

The event also marked Lively’s first major public appearance since her ongoing legal battle with It Ends With Us director and co-star Justin Baldoni. When a reporter tried to bring up the controversy with Kendrick, she dodged the question with humor. “Why, what happened?” she joked. “I did Ayahuasca, and the last year of my life is just gone. But I’ve heard the movie is amazing.”

Despite rumors of tension, sources insist there’s no real drama between Kendrick and Lively. One insider even claimed that Kendrick was upset over negative Instagram comments about the film but emphasized that everything between the co-stars is fine.

Fans won’t have to wait long to see the duo back in action—Another Simple Favor starts streaming on Prime Video on May 1. Will the sequel capture the same magic as the original? Only time will tell!