The Stone family is coming home for Christmas once again. Searchlight Pictures officially announced on September 12, 2026, that a sequel to the 2005 holiday cult classic The Family Stone is in the works, with nearly the entire original cast set to return. The follow-up is titled The Families Stone and will pick up two decades after the events of the first film.
Claire Danes, Rachel McAdams, Dermot Mulroney, Craig T. Nelson, Sarah Jessica Parker, Luke Wilson, Tyrone Giordano, Elizabeth Reaser, Paul Schneider, and Brian White will all reprise their roles from the original movie. The one absence is Diane Keaton, who played matriarch Sybil Stone and passed away in October 2025 at the age of 79.
Who Is Returning for The Families Stone
The sequel has secured the return of ten original cast members. Sarah Jessica Parker is back as Meredith Morton, the tightly wound girlfriend who struggled to fit into the Stone family during the first film. Dermot Mulroney returns as Everett Stone, the eldest son who brought Meredith home for that fateful Christmas.
Rachel McAdams is returning as Amy Stone, Everett’s sharp-tongued sister. Claire Danes will play Julie Morton again, Meredith’s sister who became a surprising romantic connection for Everett. Craig T. Nelson returns as Kelly Stone, the family patriarch, while Luke Wilson is back as Ben Stone, Everett’s free-spirited younger brother.
The supporting cast is also returning. Tyrone Giordano plays Thad Stone, Elizabeth Reaser is Susannah Stone, Paul Schneider returns as Brad Stevenson, and Brian White will appear as Patrick Thomas.
What the Sequel Story Is About
The official logline for The Families Stone reveals a new holiday gathering for the Stone family. “Twenty years after their mother’s passing, the Stone family reunites for Christmas only to face the season’s biggest surprise: their father has unexpectedly invited the woman he’s fallen in love with to meet the family,” the synopsis reads.
This setup mirrors the original film’s premise, where Everett brought Meredith home to meet his family, only for the visit to spiral into romantic complications and shifting loyalties. In the first movie, Meredith eventually fell in love with Ben, Everett’s brother, while Everett connected with Meredith’s sister Julie.
Thomas Bezucha, who wrote and directed the 2005 original, is returning to write and direct the sequel. Original producer Michael London is also back through Groundswell Productions, alongside Shannon Gaulding. Parker and Alison Benson are producing through Pretty Matches Productions.
How the Cast and Director Are Honoring Diane Keaton
The sequel arrives almost one year after Diane Keaton’s death from pneumonia in October 2025. In the original film, Keaton’s character Sybil Stone passed away from terminal breast cancer near the ending, making the family’s Christmas gathering their final one together.
Bezucha shared that he was already working on the script when he learned of Keaton’s passing. “I’ve been haunted by the loss of Sybil for months now while I worked on it, and so this was a blow on a tender bruise already,” Bezucha told CNN in November 2025. “Mentally, I’ve been spending time in that house where I’ve been missing her for a while already”.
“Tom Bezucha is a great writer and a great director, and I read the script, and it’s really funny, and it’s so nice that everybody wants to work together again,” said Luke Wilson, who plays Ben Stone. “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 told Entertainment Tonight in July 2026 that he “can’t believe it’s happening, but it is”.
Mulroney teased the sequel’s story during a May 2026 appearance on The Tangle podcast. “You won’t believe how s— went down the last 20 years for the Stones,” he said.
The Family Stone Legacy and Production Details
The original The Family Stone was released in 2005 and grossed $92.9 million worldwide on a budget of $18 million. While reviews at the time were mixed, the film has since become a cult favorite among holiday movie fans. Sarah Jessica Parker earned a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress in a Motion Picture, Comedy or Musical for her performance as Meredith Morton.
Production on The Families Stone is set to begin in New York this fall. No official release date has been announced yet, with Searchlight’s social media announcement simply stating “coming soon”.
The sequel will be overseen by Searchlight Pictures, with Taylor Friedman, SVP of Production, and Daniel Yu, Creative Executive, managing the project. They report to DanTram Nguyen and Katie Goodson-Thomas, Heads of Production and Development.
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Global Release Information
For audiences in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and India, The Families Stone does not yet have a confirmed theatrical release date. The film is expected to arrive in theaters worldwide through Searchlight Pictures, though no window has been set. Fans should watch for updates from Searchlight’s official channels and the cast’s social media accounts as production moves forward this fall.
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