One Direction will not be reuniting for James Corden’s final Late Late Show

There are some fans out there—and let’s not name names—who fully convinced themselves that the beloved British boyband, One Direction, would reunite for the finale of The Late Late Show With James Corden. One of those fans—and again let’s keep names out of it—might have even hijacked an A.V. Club newswire to pitch the idea. Those fans—who shall remain entirely anonymous—will be disappointed to learn that the group will remain un-reunited, at least for James Corden’s late-night curtain call.

The idea that 1D might have a one-night-only return may have been mostly hopeful manifestation, but it was supplemented by a blind item from DeuxMoi, the less-than-reliable celebrity gossip account. That tidbit then made its way into the U.K. tabloids, which garnered the notice of The Late Late Show. “Nobody loves the boys more than us…but this story just isn’t true,” the CBS series’ official Twitter posted on Thursday. “What is true is we’ve got an absolutely brilliant 2 hour finale planned to celebrate 8 years of #LateLateShow at 10pm on April 27th.”

Alas, the 1D reunion may have been nothing more than a fun idea, but it was at least one grounded in reality (more than can be said for many pop culture conspiracies these days). Corden was indeed one of the group’s biggest supporters. He and band member Louis Tomlinson were acquainted before 1D had even formed, and the older actor became a friend and mentor to the young men during their X-Factor days. Corden wrote the band’s “Best Song Ever” video in 2013, which was directed by Ben Winston, who would go on to executive produce The Late Late Show when Corden became host in 2015. The band appeared on his talk show a number of times before they broke up, and have since all returned as solo acts; Harry Styles has even hosted the show himself.

All this to say, it wasn’t a complete fan delusion to think the group might reunite for such a monumental occasion as Corden’s final Late Late bow. Would it have been the perfect occasion to fulfill the promise of a “No Control” music video as mentioned in their 2015 Carpool Karaoke appearance? Yes. Is this writer bitter about it? No. She is a well-adjusted adult who did not invest any future happiness in seeing four (or five) grown men hang out in the same place again. She will continue to live, however begrudgingly, in this One Direction-less world.