Spoiler alert! This story will reveal spoilers about the 2005 movie The Family Stone, which is available to stream with a Prime Video subscription or Hulu subscription.
Families coming together for the holidays make for such a good starting off point for so many stories — including several on the 2025 Christmas movie schedule — especially if there’s a twist involved, like introducing your partner to your family. The 2005 flick The Family Stone offered a brilliantly heightened look into such a situation, and I was so excited to find out a sequel is in the works. To that end, there is one thing I’d love from The Family Stone 2, but also, I have a big concern.
The Family Stone featured an ensemble cast of impressive names like Sarah Jessica Parker, Craig T. Nelson, Claire Danes and, of course, Diane Keaton. Still, this one doesn’t find its way onto everybody’s list of favorite Christmas films. The titular Stones are an admittedly flawed bunch, and on top of having characters who are hard to like, this one is practically guaranteed to make you cry.
I get it, I understand every argument against it, and you’ll just never make me hate it. Before I get into my hopes and fears, though, let’s look at what we know about the upcoming sequel.
The Family Stone 2 Is In The Works Following Diane Keaton’s Death
We’re going to get into spoiler territory here, so turn back now if you aren’t aware of how the 2005 Christmas movie plays out. The Family Stone is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, and following Diane Keaton’s death in October at age 79, writer-director Thomas Bezucha revealed to CNN that he’d already been thinking of catching up with the Stones.
While The Family Stone centers around Everett (Dermot Mulroney) introducing his uptight girlfriend Meredith (Sarah Jessica Parker) to his judgmental family, the story takes a twist when the Stone children catch onto the fact that their mother Sybil has been diagnosed with a terminal illness (the implication is a recurrence of breast cancer).
Diane Keaton’s death made Thomas Bezucha want to “honor her even more,” with a sequel, despite the fact that it plagued him. He said:
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.
The Family Stone 2 has not officially been green-lit, and none of the ensemble cast has officially signed on, but Thomas Bezucha said he has spoken to everyone and received unanimously positive responses. (Craig T. Nelson and Dermot Mulroney have both acknowledged the project.) The director also said he was only interested in doing the sequel if he could get the original cast back, so we’ll definitely be keeping our eyes on this one.
I’d Love For The Sequel To Feature Another Introduction To The Stone Family
When Everett brought Meredith home to meet the family two decades ago, the next generation of Stones had already begun to form. Susannah (Elizabeth Reaser) was pregnant with her second child, and by the end of the movie, Thad and Patrick (Tyrone Giordano and Brian J. White, respectively) had adopted a son. I think it would be fun to see one of the Stone’s next generation — who would now theoretically be in their 20s — bring home a partner to meet the family.
In addition to the above couples, The Family Stone also saw Everett winding up with Meredith’s sister Julie (Claire Danes), Meredith getting together with Everett’s brother Ben (Luke Wilson), and Amy (in one of Rachel McAdams’ best roles) reconnecting with Brad (Paul Schneider). Any one of these couples could have borne children who could carry out the nod to the plot of the original film.
But here’s the twist: Maybe this time the family members aren’t quite such assholes? Perhaps Sybil’s death has softened them, or Kelly (Craig T. Nelson) has won them over with his “generosity of spirit” mantra that exactly zero of them abided by back in 2005. Here’s my big issue with that idea, though.
I’m Worried Making The Stones Likeable Would Reflect Badly On Diane Keaton’s Character
There’s no doubt in my mind that should The Family Stone 2 actually come to fruition, it will and should be a tribute to Diane Keaton. However, what happens when the Stone family members realize that Sybil was the problem all along? The ending of the first movie even takes a step in that direction, showing a much softer side to all of the family members as they gather for their first holiday without the matriarch.
If we’re being honest, I do believe Sybil Stone was the instigator, and it was an absolute treat to watch Diane Keaton portray this deliciously petty, overbearing, passive-aggressive mother. She mocked Meredith to her face for trying to be polite, she talked openly about Amy’s sex life despite her daughter’s protests and she facilitated pretty much all of the toxic behavior happening at the Stone family Christmas.
(However, I will never fault her for defending Thad and Patrick during one of the most awkward family dinners ever on screen, even if there was probably a better way to handle it. Protect these men at all costs.)
So regardless of whether or not a new person is being introduced to the Stone family in the sequel, I don’t know how you solve this conundrum: Either the family is still illogically mean and unlikeable, or they’ve turned into pleasant people now that Sybil has passed on and is no longer around to encourage the bad behavior. And what kind of tribute to Diane Keaton would that be?
Either way, it’s going to be admittedly difficult to see the Stones reunite without Sybil — the final scene of The Family Stone was already difficult — and I imagine Diane Keaton’s presence will be missed in every scene. Still, even knowing this, and with the concern I talked out above, I’m really hoping The Family Stone 2 comes together.
The 2005 film is available to stream on Prime Video and Hulu, if you’d like to relive the Stone holiday drama. It really can put your own family get-togethers into perspective, and some people say it’s better the second time around anyway!
