Beloved Diane Keaton Classic Gets a Sequel After Its Original Star’s Passing

Well, this one hits different. Thomas Bezucha says he has started developing a sequel to his 2005 dramedy 'The Family Stone,' and the spark was the recent news surrounding Diane Keaton. It is early days, but the intention is there — and yes, it is an emotional one.

Where this is coming from

In a new CNN interview, Bezucha — who wrote and directed the original, and later made 'Monte Carlo' and has worked on 'Fargo' — said the timing and the subject matter have been weighing on him while he maps out a follow-up. Sybil Stone, Keaton's role in the first film, is the family matriarch facing the return of breast cancer. That loss sits at the heart of what he is writing now.

'I have been haunted by the loss of Sybil for months now while I worked on it, and so this was a blow on a tender bruise already. Mentally, I have been spending time in that house where I have been missing her for a while already.'

Will the original cast come back?

Bezucha says he will only move forward if the original ensemble wants in. He has already reached out and, according to him, the responses were unanimously positive. Nothing is locked or official yet — think development, not pre-production — but the interest is there.

A quick refresher on the first movie

'The Family Stone' (2005) follows a big, messy, deeply human holiday gathering in which Keaton's Sybil tries to keep her clan together amid the return of her cancer. Bezucha wrote and directed, and the cast was stacked:

• Sarah Jessica Parker
• Luke Wilson
• Claire Danes
• Rachel McAdams
• Dermot Mulroney
• Craig T. Nelson
• Tyrone Giordano

Reviews were mixed at the time, but audiences showed up. The film made a little over $92 million worldwide on an $18 million budget — a solid hit for a prickly holiday family piece.

So what is this sequel, exactly?

Details are under wraps — this is still idea-stage — but the emotional target is clear: Bezucha is writing from the perspective of a family living in the shadow of Sybil. If he gets the full cast back, it is easy to imagine a story that checks in on that house, that family, and the scars time leaves behind.

Bottom line: no deals, no dates, but the creative wheels are turning, and the original players sound open. If it comes together, expect something heartfelt, messy, and very much in the spirit of the first film — with the weight of everything that has happened since baked in.