Warner Bros. Pictures and HBO Max have revealed the official trailer for the family comedy A Christmas Story Christmas, premiering on HBO Max on November 17, 2022.
A Christmas Story Christmas is the long-awaited follow-up to the annual holiday favorite, A Christmas Story. This time, Ralphie is all grown up and must deal with Christmas and all that comes with it… as a dad. Peter Billingsley returns to the role that has made kids of all ages anticipate Christmas morning like no other.
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; and RD Robb returning as Schwartz.
Ian Petrella is reprising his role as Ralphie’s brother, Randy; Davis Murphy (Looking for Dr. Love) plays Delbert Bumpus; Zack Ward is returning as Scut Farkus; and Julie Hagerty (Instant Family) portrays 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.
The film’s producers are Irwin Zwilling, Marc Toberoff, Cale Boyter, Jay Ashenfelter, Peter Billingsley, and Vince Vaughn. Mike Drake, Schenk, and Peter Dodd serve as executive producers.
Kaytis’s team behind the camera includes director of photography Matthew Clark (Pitch Perfect 3, Mixtape), production designer Rusty Smith (Get Out, Life of the Party), editor David Walsh Heinz (The Call of the Wild) and costume designer Shay Cunliffe (Book Club, A Dog’s Purpose). The music is by composer Jeff Morrow.
Warner Bros. Pictures and HBO MAX are presenting a Legendary Pictures / Wild West Picture Show / Toberoff production.
“There was a lot of conversation about doing a sequel much closer to when the original film came out in 1983,” Peter Billingsley said. “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.
Billingsley continued: “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.”
Director Clay Kaytis came on board to helm the film despite his initial hesitation, which almost prevented him from reading the script. “I received the script, and I decided that I was not going to read it because I loved the original movie so much. I thought, ‘There’s no way they could write a movie that will live up to the original.’
“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 integrated 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.”
Mirko Parlevliet has been reporting on the entertainment industry since 1998 and founded Vital Thrills in 2018 to cover the latest news on streaming, movies, TV, and video games.