Ron Howard Sets The Record Straight About A “Happy Days” Reboot

A lot of people complain there’s nothing original on TV or in the movies anymore. We’ve had plenty of reboots in the last few years. Some have been fantastic, and others missed the mark. Sometimes, the original is just so amazing people fear a reboot might ruin a good thing. Is it better to leave nostalgia alone? Ron Howard seems to think so. Per People, the Happy Days star sat down at the WSJ Future of Everything event in NYC and talked about his acting career. Even though fans always ask him if we’ll ever see Richie Cunningham and Arthur Fonzarelli together on screen again, Ron isn’t interested.

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“It’s amazing, but we’re not doing a reboot,” he said.

Ron Howard Knows Happy Days is special. He appreciates the fact that 40 years after the end of the show, fans still watch the Cunninghams with a smile.

“The fact that the show endures, and that “The Andy Griffith Show” is still on — both of these shows have never left the air — and it kind of blows my mind in an interesting way,” Ron told People. “There’s something about that that doesn’t age — it was nostalgia when it was made.”

The Happy Days cast became a family and Ron Howard and Henry Winkler remain great friends. They may not be up for a reboot, but the pair reunited at Arnold’s Drive-In in September 2024 for the 76th Primetime Emmys. The crowd went wild, seeing Richie and Fonzie back together as if no time had passed.

Ron told People he and Henry “clicked immediately.”

“Henry’s a few years older than I am. Yale-educated, and he looked at acting in a way that was — it wasn’t Hollywood,” Ron recalled of his Happy Days co-star. “It was a little more intellectual. It was theater-based, and that was new to me. But more than anything, we just got along beautifully and worked well together.”

This story’s featured image is by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images.