‘The Family Stone’ sequel brings back several original stars after 20 years
Searchlight Pictures is moving ahead with a sequel to ‘The Family Stone,’ nearly two decades after the original movie became a holiday rewatch for many viewers. Deadline reported that the follow-up is set at Searchlight, with writer-director Thomas Bezucha returning to direct from his own script.
The sequel, reportedly titled ‘The Families Stone,’ will bring back several members of the original cast. Claire Danes, Rachel McAdams, Dermot Mulroney, Craig T Nelson, Sarah Jessica Parker, Luke Wilson, Tyrone Giordano, Elizabeth Reaser, Paul Schneider, and Brian White are expected to return for the new film.
Nelson will reprise his role as Kelly Stone, while Danes returns as Julie Morton, McAdams as Amy Stone, Mulroney as Everett Stone, Parker as Meredith Morton, Wilson as Ben Stone, Giordano as Thad Stone, Reaser as Susannah Stone, Schneider as Brad Stevenson, and White as Patrick Thomas.
The film will also address the absence of Diane Keaton, who played Stone family matriarch Sybil Stone in the 2005 movie. Keaton died in October 2025 at the age of 79. Her character’s death was already part of the original film’s story, and the sequel will continue from that emotional thread.
According to Deadline, the new film "picks up 20 years after the death of her character, matriarch Sybil Stone — something that was depicted in the original film — as the Stone family again 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."
Mulroney had earlier teased the sequel during an appearance on ‘The Tangle’ podcast. He said, "I think it's going to be entitled ‘The Families Stone.’" He also said, "Everyone's up for returning. I can be on record," while naming Wilson, McAdams, and Nelson. The actor also said Bezucha revisited the story after Keaton’s death. "I think he wrote it very quickly. I've read it. It's brilliant, and a lot of the actors have said yes,” Mulroney told the podcast.
Parker also addressed the sequel earlier this year. Speaking to Variety at the Golden Eve gala in January, she said she was "so excited" about the project, while adding that "it's a rather bittersweet quandary given the loss of Diane Keaton." Production on ‘The Families Stone’ is set to take place in New York this fall. Michael London, who produced the original film, is also returning to produce the sequel alongside Shannon Gaulding, Parker, and Alison Benson.
