Jimmy Fallon is seriously the best — and persistent! Mario Lopez revealed during The Ellen DeGeneres Show on Friday, Feb. 13, that the Tonight Show host set plans in motion for a Saved by the Bell reunion years before finally getting his wish earlier this month.
“Jimmy Fallon first approached me about six years ago to try to get it together because he shoots in New York and we’re here [in L.A. so] getting it together was difficult,” Lopez, 41, explained.
But after six long years, the actors had no excuse! Fallon took his talk show to sunny California for a few weeks, making it the perfect opportunity to capture a reunion on film. Not to mention, to get the Extra host back into his AC Slater unitard.
“They took all kinds of moments from the show and he decided he liked the one where I was in tights doing ballet. And then I had to stay in that for the rest of the scene!” Lopez said, laughing. “But look at my mullet — it’s way too aggressive. It’s a little more Rick James as opposed to kind of like what I used to rock.”
Lopez joined his former costars Mark-Paul Gosselaar (Zack Morris), Tiffani Thiessen (Kelly Kapowski), and Elizabeth Berkley (Jessie Spano) for the insanely clever throwback — and had a blast!
“I loved our reunion! We’ve wanted to do one for years and this was the perfect way to do it,” he exclusively told Us Weekly after the show aired. “I’ll always commit 100 percent to AC Slater — unitard and all!”
It’s been 26 years since Saved by the Bell ended. The beloved ’80s and ’90s series aired from 1989 to 1993. It was followed by the spin-off, Saved by the Bell: The College Years, which ended after one season.
Watch the video above!