“A Christmas Story” is one of those classic holiday films that is either a part of your annual movie-watching experience or something that you can’t avoid. In any case, the film is getting a sequel almost 30 years after its original release. Now WB has released a new trailer for “A Christmas Story Christmas.”
That’s right Ralphie is back, but things are very different for the kid who wished for a BB-gun. Now he’s a dad, and must grapple with fatherhood in the day and age of social media, video games, and other complications. And Peter Billingsley returns to the role that has made kids of all ages anticipate Christmas morning like no other.
“There was a lot of conversation about doing a sequel much closer to when the original film came out in 1983,” Billingsley remembers. “And then, of course, in the early ‘90s… Eventually it seemed like a distant memory, like we’d never be able to do it. But here we are, Ralphie is all grown up, he has his own family, and it’s an opportunity to really take what was so great from the first one and bring so much of that magic back but with a whole new perspective. You see what his dreams are, where his life is now, who his family is. In some ways, waiting this long makes it all the more special because there were so many new characters that we could bring in, and so many of the old fan favorites that we got to explore as well. Always in the back of my mind I’d hoped that this day would come.”
Starring alongside Billingsley as Ralphie Parker are Erinn Hayes (“Bill & Ted Face the Music”) as Ralphie’s wife, Sandy; Julianna Layne (“Prodigal Son”) as their daughter, Julie; River Drosche (“Miracle Workers”) as son Mark; Scott Schwartz returning as Flick; RD Robb returning as Schwartz; Ian Petrella reprising his role as Ralphie’s brother, Randy; Davis Murphy (“Looking for Dr. Love”) as Delbert Bumpus; with Zack Ward returning as Scut Farkus; and Julie Hagerty (“Instant Family”) as Ralphie’s mom, Mrs. Parker.
Clay Kaytis (“The Christmas Chronicles”) directed from a screenplay by Nick Schenk (“Cry
Macho”) and Kaytis, screen story by Schenk and Billingsley, based upon the book In God We
Trust, All Others Pay Cash by Jean Shepherd.
“I received the script and I decided that I was not going to read it because I loved the original movie so much and I thought, ‘There’s no way they could write a movie that will live up to the original,’ Kaytis said. “Then my wife, who’s a producer, read it for me and she said, ‘This is your next movie,’ so I read it and they had done a really amazing job of figuring out how to craft a follow-up to the story that really integrates everything I loved about the first movie; that was a huge priority for me. Peter and Nick Schenk really figured out a way to make it work, so I went to Legendary and I said to them, ‘I need to direct this movie,’ and luckily they gave me a shot.”
Here’s the official plot synopsis for “A Christmas Story Christmas:”
The wait is over! “A Christmas Story Christmas”—the long-awaited follow-up to the enduring favorite that fans everywhere keep on their annual must-watch list—is finally arriving, just in time to kick off the holiday season. This heartwarming and humor-filled next chapter in Ralphie Parker’s tale finds him grown, with a family of his own, determined to create an unforgettable Christmas for his kids. Of course, as is tradition in the Parker household, despite “dad’s” best efforts to make those spirits bright, things go comically awry and hijinks ensue in this endearing, relatable slice of family life.
