The Stone family is coming home for Christmas again. Searchlight Pictures confirmed Saturday that a sequel to the beloved 2005 holiday comedy "The Family Stone" is officially in the works, with nearly the entire original ensemble set to return two decades after the film first hit theaters.

The studio made the announcement on Instagram alongside the film's official account and star Sarah Jessica Parker, who shared a graphic arranging photos of the returning cast in the shape of a Christmas tree. The follow-up carries the title "The Families Stone" and will bring back Parker as buttoned-up Meredith Morton, Rachel McAdams as Amy Stone, Craig T. Nelson as patriarch Kelly Stone, Luke Wilson, Dermot Mulroney, Claire Danes, Elizabeth Reaser, Paul Schneider, Tyrone Giordano and Brian J. White, according to Rolling Stone and Deadline.

Original writer-director Thomas Bezucha is also back behind the camera, penning and helming the sequel just as he did the first film, which grossed roughly $92 million worldwide on a modest budget and became a perennial holiday-season rewatch. The new script picks up two decades after the story's emotional climax: the death of Stone matriarch Sybil.

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 Empty Chair

That official logline lands differently than it would have a year ago. Diane Keaton, who anchored the original as Sybil Stone in one of the most quietly devastating matriarch performances of 2000s Hollywood, died in October 2025 at age 79. Bezucha has said publicly that he was already deep into writing the sequel's script when he learned of her death, meaning the film was never going to recast or resurrect her role — Sybil's absence is instead being written directly into the family's story, mirroring the real gap she leaves behind.

Fans and entertainment outlets reacted to the announcement with a mix of nostalgia and bittersweetness. Multiple outlets, including Variety and Just Jared, framed the reunion as both a celebration of the original ensemble's chemistry and an inevitable tribute to Keaton, whose career-spanning body of work made her one of the most recognizable faces in American film.

No release date, premiere window or streaming-versus-theatrical plan has been announced, and Searchlight has not detailed the identity of the new love interest character who upends the Stone family's holiday gathering. Casting beyond the confirmed returning ensemble also remains unannounced. What is confirmed is that the Stones are heading back to the screen for another Christmas — this time processing loss right alongside the laughs that made the original a genre staple.