‘The Breakfast Club’ Cast Reunites After 40 Years in Emotional First Gathering

Fans of the classic 1985 movie were thrilled when the whole cast of ‘The Breakfast Club’ reunited for the first time after forty years apart.  Recently, a significant pop culture event in Chicago, Molly Ringwald, Ally Sheedy, Judd Nelson, Anthony Michael Hall, and Emilio Estevez reunited and participated in a panel discussion to discuss their experiences creating the John Hughes-directed coming-of-age classic.

Estevez's initial reunion with the rest of the group made the moment very meaningful for many fans.  Visibly moved, Ringwald remarked on the significance of having everyone together at last.  Estevez clarified that his prior absences were his own decision, but this occasion seemed unique, especially since the movie was filmed in the Chicago suburbs, close to the convention site.

 The cast offered behind-the-scenes stories during the session.  Hall stated that when he was first approached for the job, Hughes merely asked him to discuss ideas without even giving him the script.  In contrast, Ringwald disclosed that ‘The Breakfast Club’ was initially intended to be released before ‘Sixteen Candles’, but the studio pushed for the latter to come out first.  Casting changed as a result, and once ‘Sixteen Candles’ wrapped, she was given the script.

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Several members of the cast had previously reconnected.  When Ringwald, Sheedy, Nelson, and Hall made an appearance at MegaCon Orlando earlier in February, they also discussed their common recollections.  Even though she and Hall still had to study on set between scenes, Ringwald recalled with fondness how filming provided her with a respite from her own academic life.

 The group grew close during the filming process, which Sheedy recalled as one of the best periods of her life.  Working on something so wonderful with people who truly cared about one another, she said, seemed like a dream.

The actors also enjoyed speculating about their characters' post-high school futures.  Bender might have been the principal of the school, Nelson joked.  While Ringwald envisioned Claire enjoying a more unusual life, including a few marriages and perhaps coming to terms with her sexuality later in life, Sheedy saw Allison following a creative or scholarly route.

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 The cast decided that it wouldn't feel right to reprise the story without John Hughes, who died in 2009, despite the overwhelming fan interest in a sequel.  There had been discussions about a sequel at one point, Hall said, but the group decided that it should stay a stand-alone movie in remembrance of Hughes's vision.

Ringwald, who has expressed her admiration for Hughes in previous interviews, called her experience working on his films liberating and creatively satisfying.  One of the most fulfilling times in her career was when she worked on ‘The Breakfast Club’.

–Farheen Ali