The Stone Family Is Together Again: First Set Photos From the Family Stone Sequel Are Pure Christmas Nostalgia
The Stone Family Is Together Again: First Set Photos From the Family Stone Sequel Are Pure Christmas Nostalgia
Some reunions feel inevitable. More than twenty years after The Family Stone introduced the world to the loudest, most lovable holiday family in movie history, the Stones are officially back together. Cameras started rolling on the sequel in Brooklyn this week, and the first set photos have fans already reaching for the tissues.
On Wednesday afternoon, Sarah Jessica Parker and Dermot Mulroney were spotted arriving on set to film scenes for The Families Stone, the long awaited follow up to the 2005 holiday favorite. Original cast members Claire Danes and Luke Wilson were also seen in Brooklyn, and Rachel McAdams has been photographed reuniting with the gang as well. If your December watchlist has one permanent resident, this is the news you have been waiting for.
Cameras Are Rolling in Brooklyn
Filming officially began on October 21, 2026, with the production taking over Brooklyn for its first days of shooting. Photos from the set show Parker and Mulroney in costume arriving for their scenes, looking every bit the grown up versions of Meredith Morton and Everett Stone.
New York has become the place to be for film premieres and productions this week. The city just hosted the star studded premiere of Chris Pratt’s The Terminal List season 2, and now one of the most beloved Christmas movies of all time is filming its sequel there. There is something poetic about the Stones coming home to New York to celebrate the holidays.
One surprise face on the Brooklyn set has everyone talking. Maggie Siff, best known for Sons of Anarchy and Billions, was photographed at the shoot, seemingly revealing that she has joined the cast. She did not appear in the original film, and her involvement has not been officially confirmed. Who she is playing remains one of the biggest mysteries of the production.
The Plot Twist That Changes Everything
The sequel picks up twenty years after the death of the Stone family matriarch, Sybil, played in the original by the late Diane Keaton. The family reunites for Christmas once again, but this time their widowed father Kelly, played by Craig T. Nelson, has a surprise that will shake the holiday table: he has fallen in love with another woman, and he has invited her to meet the family.
It is a brilliant narrative mirror of the original. In 2005, the drama came from Everett bringing his tightly wound girlfriend Meredith home to meet his skeptical family. Now the tables have turned, and it is the children who must welcome a stranger into the family Christmas.
Jean Smart Is the New Woman in Kelly’s Life
We already know who is playing Kelly’s new love interest. Jean Smart, the Emmy winning star of Hacks, joined the cast in September to play the woman who captured Kelly Stone’s heart. According to Variety, the role will mark Smart’s first movie appearance since 2022’s Babylon, and it could not be more perfect casting.
Smart arrives at the project fresh off another Emmy victory, and her gift for blending warmth and sharp humor makes her an inspired choice to walk into a family still grieving its matriarch. How the Stone children react to their father moving on will be the emotional center of the film, and Smart is one of the few actresses who could make audiences root for the newcomer.
Almost Everyone Is Back
One of the most remarkable things about The Families Stone is how much of the original ensemble returned. Alongside Parker, Mulroney, Danes, McAdams, Nelson and Wilson, the sequel brings back Tyrone Giordano, Elizabeth Reaser, Paul Schneider and Brian White. In an era when legacy sequels often settle for cameos, this is nearly the whole family.
Just as importantly, the sequel is in the hands of the man who started it all. Thomas Bezucha, who wrote and directed the 2005 original, is returning to write and direct the new film. The project was announced by Searchlight Pictures on September 12, 2026 with a studio Instagram post shared with Parker, and production is scheduled to continue in New York through the fall.
No official release date has been announced yet. With filming underway this fall, a holiday season release would be the dream, but Searchlight has not confirmed timing.
Honoring Diane Keaton
There is one cast member who cannot return, and her absence shapes the entire film. Diane Keaton, who gave one of her most beloved performances as matriarch Sybil Stone, died in October 2025 from pneumonia at the age of 79. The creative team has said they intend to honor her memory.
Bezucha opened up about the loss in a November 2025 interview with CNN, while he was already writing the sequel: “I’ve 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’ve been spending time in that house where I’ve been missing her for a while already.”
Why This Sequel Took More Than Twenty Years
The original The Family Stone arrived in theaters in 2005 and earned roughly 92 million dollars worldwide, growing over the years into a perennial holiday favorite. Fans have quoted its lines, recreated its famous kitchen floor scene, and rewatched it every December for two decades.
For the uninitiated, the first film followed eldest son Everett as he brought his uptight girlfriend Meredith home to meet his family for Christmas, planning to propose. Meredith’s chilly reception from the Stones led her to ask her sister Julie to join her for support, which only complicated the festivities and sparked unexpected romantic connections across the family.
Sequels to beloved holiday films are risky business. What sets The Families Stone apart is that the original creator is back, the original cast is back, and the story has a genuine reason to exist. Hollywood has been in a reflective mood this month, from Jesse Eisenberg’s candid look back at his career to this warm family reunion. This is not a cash grab. It is a story about grief, new love, and family that has had twenty years to become worth telling.
What We Still Do Not Know
Plenty of questions remain. We do not know the release date. We do not know exactly how Jean Smart’s character fits into the family dynamic beyond the logline. We do not know whether Maggie Siff’s role will be confirmed, or whether there are more surprise castings to come. And we do not know how the film will handle the passing of time for characters like Thad and Susannah, whose stories ended on such hopeful notes in the original.
What we do know is that the Stones are together again in Brooklyn, filming a Christmas movie about a family Christmas, and the first photos already feel like a warm hug. Twenty years was a long wait, but some families are worth waiting for.
