In this age of remakes, reboots, revivals, and regurgitated ideas, it seems as though any given studio is looking for some way to breathe life back into their most popular properties. Some of these attempted resurgences may not be particularly expected, however, like the developing sequel toA Christmas Story.
Holiday classicA Christmas Storywill be the newest recipient of a long-belated sequel, titledA Christmas Story Christmas, thanks to a new deal between Legendary Pictures and Warner Bros. The 2 companies have just struck an accord to create a new entry in the series that nobody knew was a series, and they’re bringing back at least 1 familiar face. Peter Billingsley, who played main character Ralphie in the original film, has signed on to return to the role in theHBO Maxsequel.
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The plot will focus on a grown-up Ralphie in the 1970s. Decades after the first movie, he finds himself with a family of his own, and now he wants to bring them back to his old house on Cleveland Street in Indiana so he can recreatethe magic of Christmasthat he experienced growing up. He’ll reconnect with old friends and deal with the loss of his father in what sounds like an interesting tonal whiplash, all the while trying to keep his childhood traditions alive for his kids.
Gran Torinowriter Nick Schenk will pen the script, whileThe Angry Birds Moviedirector Clay Kaytis will take on directing duties. Billingsley is also on board to executive producealongside Vince Vaughnas part of their production company Wild West Picture Show. Aside from Billingsley, no other casting decisions have been confirmed. However, Deadline sources suggest thatAirplanestar Julie Hagerty is in talks to star as Ralphie’s mother.
This isn’t actually the first sequel toA Christmas Story, as some might assume. The original film, proving to be a massive success, naturally inspired several follow-ups. This includedOllie Hopnoodle’s Haven of Blissin 1988 (yes, that’s the real title),My Summer Storyin 1994, and 2012’s famously dislikedA Christmas Story 2. Each movie changed up the cast completely, with notable additionsincludingSuccession’s Kieran Culkinas Ralphie inMy Summer StoryandHome Alone’s Daniel Stern as Mr. Parker inA Christmas Story 2.
Whether the new sequel will follow in those movies' footsteps, or even acknowledge their existence, has yet to be seen. It’s a big opportunity for either a new Christmas classic or grateful fodder for snarky film YouTubers, so it will be interesting to see how it turns out. Production onA Christmas Story Christmasis set to begin at the end of February in Bulgaria.
