The Family Stone sequel has officially received the green light, with Searchlight Pictures confirming the return of key original cast members and director Thomas Bezucha.
Rachel McAdams, Claire Danes, and Sarah Jessica Parker will lead the returning ensemble for the sequel, officially titled The Families Stone. Writer-director Thomas Bezucha, who directed the original 2005 holiday feature, returns to write and direct the new chapter.
The Families Stone will take place 20 years after the events of the original film. It will follow another Christmas gathering for the Stone family and introduce a new chapter in their lives. However, Diane Keaton will not return as Sybil Stone following the actor’s death in 2025.
What we know about the Family Stone sequel so far
Searchlight Pictures has confirmed several members of the original cast for The Family Stone. McAdams, Danes, and Parker will reprise their respective roles, alongside Dermot Mulroney, Craig T. Nelson, Luke Wilson, Tyrone Giordano, Elizabeth Reaser, Paul Schneider, and Brian J. White.
Nelson will once again play Kelly Stone, whose life will be at the center of the sequel’s new story. The film will explore what has happened to the Stone family in the two decades since viewers last saw them.
The film’s official logline reads, “Twenty years after their mother’s passing, the Stone family reunites for Christmas only to face the season’s biggest surprise: their father (Nelson) has unexpectedly invited the woman he’s fallen in love with to meet the family.”
Meanwhile, Keaton’s absence will be a major factor. Sybil was the matriarch of the Stone family and one of the main characters in the original movie. The new film will take place after her death, marking a significant change for the Stone family.
Released in 2005, The Family Stone followed the Stone family as they gathered for Christmas. The holiday visit became increasingly complicated as romantic relationships, family disagreements, and personal secrets came to light. The film earned over $92 million worldwide at the box office.
Production for The Families Stone is set to commence in New York this fall. Searchlight Pictures has not yet announced a firm theatrical release date.
