Nearly two decades after The Family Stone became a holiday favourite, actor Luke Wilson has shared an update on the planned sequel, saying he “can’t believe” the beloved family story is returning.
Writer-director Tom Bezucha, who created the original 2005 Christmas film, is currently working on the sequel. He revealed the project after the death of Diane Keaton, who played the much-loved character Sybil Stone in the first film.
Wilson recently spoke about the sequel in an interview with Entertainment Tonight, praising Bezucha’s script and the possibility of bringing the original cast and creative team together again.
“Tom Bezucha is a great writer and a great director, and I read the script, and it’s really funny. It’s so nice that everybody wants to work together again,” Wilson said.
“After the death of Diane Keaton, it’ll be even more meaningful because she was so great to be around on the first one.”
Wilson also reflected on how The Family Stone slowly became a holiday tradition for many families. He said the film’s lasting popularity surprised him, as viewers continued telling him they watched it every Christmas and Thanksgiving.
Following Keaton’s death at the age of 79, Bezucha told CNN that the loss influenced his work on the sequel.
“I’ve been haunted by the loss of Sybil for months now while I worked on it,” Bezucha said. “This was a blow on a tender bruise already. Mentally, I’ve been spending time in that house where I’ve been missing her for a while already.”
Released in 2005, The Family Stone follows Sybil Stone (Keaton) and her husband Kelly (Craig T. Nelson) as they welcome their adult children home for the holidays. The family gathering becomes complicated when their son Everett (Dermot Mulroney) plans to propose to his girlfriend Meredith (Sarah Jessica Parker), a woman Sybil does not approve of.
The original film also featured Wilson, Rachel McAdams and Elizabeth Reaser as members of the Stone family. The sequel will revisit the world of the much-loved holiday drama while carrying the emotional weight of Keaton’s absence.
