Searchlight Sets ‘The Families Stone’ Title for Family Stone Sequel

Searchlight is bringing the Stones back for the holidays. The sequel to 2005’s The Family Stone is officially titled The Families Stone, with Sarah Jessica Parker, Rachel McAdams and Luke Wilson among the returning cast. The Hollywood Reporter

Tom Bezucha, who wrote and directed the original, is returning in both roles. The new film will pick up 20 years after the first movie’s events, according to the Hollywood Reporter. Variety also reported that more of the original ensemble will return. Variety

Analysis: This is a smart kind of sequel announcement: it restores the original creative voice while giving the cast’s family story enough time to develop real wrinkles. The title’s plural twist hints that the holiday chaos may now belong to a wider, older, more complicated clan. That is exactly where a family comedy can find fresh fuel, provided the new film brings more than another round of awkward dinners and inherited sweaters.