Ralphie mourns the loss of his old man and reunites with old friends in the nostalgic, full-length trailer for HBO Max‘s A Christmas Story Christmas.
Set for release on Thursday, Nov. 17, the streaming sequel sees Peter Billingsley, now 51, reprise his role as Ralphie Parker. In the movie, Ralphie “returns to the house on Cleveland Street to deliver his kids a magical Christmas like the one he had growing up,” according to the official logline. “With the same attention-to-real-life tone of the first, Ralphie reconnects with childhood friends, reconciles the passing of his Old Man and sows the seeds for the origins of the beloved holiday classic.”
In addition to Billingsley, the ’70s-set followup features original film stars Ian Petrella (Randy), Zack Ward (Scut Farkus), Scott Schwartz (Flick) and R.D. Robb (Schwartz). The cast also includes Erinn Hayes (Childrens Hospital, Kevin Can Wait) as Ralphie’s wife, River Drosche (Miracle Workers) and Julianna Layne (Prodigal Son) as their son and daughter, and Julie Hagerty (Airplane!), who succeeds Melinda Dillon in the role of Mrs. Parker.
“There was a lot of conversation about doing a sequel much closer to when the original film came out in 1983,” Billingsley recalls in an accompany statement. “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.”
The original Christmas Story was only a modest box office success upon its initial theatrical release. But over time, the film — about a young boy who so desperately wanted an official Red Ryder carbine action, 200-shot range model air rifle for Christmas — became a cult classic, thanks in part to TBS’ annual, 24-hour marathon, which starts on Christmas Eve and ends the following night, on Dec. 25.
Scroll down to see side by sides of the Christmas Story cast then and now, then hit the comments with your reactions to the trailer.
As an avid Jean Shepherd fan (who was not referenced in any way) I’m dubious at best at this rekindling. Let hope it attempts to have the soul and satire of the original, even without Jean’s narration. At first glance, it reminds me of the Leave it to Beaver reunion shows.
Veyizmir…
It is very difficult to recapture a time 40 years later. Even if Jean Shepherd was still alive to write the story it would be a gamble. There have been other reunion shows that just didn’t capture the original. I wish the best for this show and hope it is the exception to bad reunion shows. I hope the clips from the first movie are only for the trailer and not included in the movie. Anyone who will be interested in this film will have seen the first movie many times.
It looks funny as heck! A real holiday treat! I’m in.
Might have to re-up for HBO Max just for this.
I can’t wait!!!!
I wish they would have shot it on film to replicate the look of the original. The flat, digital look doesn’t fit the subject manner. (“The X-Files” reboot suffered from the same visual disconnect.)
Looks like a winner! I am looking forward to watching this family Christmas movie with my family.
I wonder why Melinda Dillion didn’t return. But, I can’t wait for this. It looks like fun and I’m all in.
She’s in her mid-80s now so she may just be retired or not able to do it. Would’ve been nice to see her though – she’s so great in the original.
Keep in mind they had to rebuild EVERYTHING when they shot this movie! It was shot overseas in Hungary and Bulgaria! They recreated everything!
THIS IS GREAT CANT WAIT TO SEE IT
When is this showing?
Second sentence. “Set for release on Thursday, Nov. 17, ….”